


Because of everything

by amateurwriter



Category: Hurts (Band)
Genre: Fighting, Fluff, Kidnapping, Love, M/M, RPF, Realtionship, Smut, descriptions of violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-02
Updated: 2014-09-02
Packaged: 2018-02-15 10:10:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2225109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amateurwriter/pseuds/amateurwriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I DO NOT give permission to post any part of this work of fiction in any kind of media.</p><p> </p><p>The timeline of this fic is absolutely broken, please don't hold it against me. I just took what I needed to make it work, so there is a mention of a song that was released in 2013, even though the  writing starts at the time of their first meeting. I didn't really have any particular period of time on my mind when I came up with the wole idea, I just kind of imagined Theo being around 26 years old. </p><p>My knowledge about Manchester is at a level of an absolute zero, so if there are any mistakes regarding the streets etc., I am really sorry.<br/>If I have done my research correctly, Theo's apartment would be somewhere near Bury New Road, and the Sherlock freak I am – I have chosen the address to be John Street (John Watson is my fav fictional character <3), which is a perfect 30-minutes-long walk to 42nd Street Night Club.</p><p> </p><p>I am highly embarassed about some parts of it, but well... here it is.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Because of everything

**Author's Note:**

> I DO NOT give permission to post any part of this work of fiction in any kind of media.
> 
>  
> 
> The timeline of this fic is absolutely broken, please don't hold it against me. I just took what I needed to make it work, so there is a mention of a song that was released in 2013, even though the writing starts at the time of their first meeting. I didn't really have any particular period of time on my mind when I came up with the wole idea, I just kind of imagined Theo being around 26 years old. 
> 
> My knowledge about Manchester is at a level of an absolute zero, so if there are any mistakes regarding the streets etc., I am really sorry.  
> If I have done my research correctly, Theo's apartment would be somewhere near Bury New Road, and the Sherlock freak I am – I have chosen the address to be John Street (John Watson is my fav fictional character <3), which is a perfect 30-minutes-long walk to 42nd Street Night Club.
> 
>  
> 
> I am highly embarassed about some parts of it, but well... here it is.

       This whole day was insanely boring, Theo had nothing to do and that usually ended badly. Not for him, but for other people. On days like that, he used to just go out, walk around Manchester and look for trouble. He was picking up fights by some shady bars and in dark alleys. He was always winning, enjoying the rush of a fist fight, the pleasure of breaking bones of some outcasts. He was always carefully choosing those people – nasty personas, lurking around to attack some poor, innocent women or mug drunk men. Despite his eagerness to hurt other people, he had a strong moral code. He has never wounded anyone who did not deserve it. Theo had some kind of ability to recognize the bad guys, an incredible sense of intuition - he was always able to tell what they were up to, so he was neutralizing them with pleasure. That part of his personality was just there, he had a constant need for battle and he was exceptionally good at it: master of martial arts, excellent shooter, familiar and comfortable with small white weapons, like knives or daggers. He was also fascinated with bows and swords, but there were not many opportunities to use _that_ in the 21st century, it was just more of a hobby. He often thought he'd be a perfect spy/agent material, if not for a fact that _he did not take orders_. That was definitely not for him, he was more of a free-lancer. So he's decided to become a hitman. An excellent idea – simply getting the list of targets and choosing the most vicious ones, to make the world a better place. A fair payment and satisfaction for his dangerous urges made a perfect combination. He was his own boss, no one ever questioned his verdicts.

       By now, he managed to make a name for himself, all the most important personas of the edge of the criminal world knew who he was, new killing contracts kept coming. He even managed to establish a cooperation with a very interesting and helpful organization called Doza. Their business was to 'help you in any situation'. For the usual clients, they could provide an alibi or help to disappear. But Theo was one of their oldest, most trusted clients and also a friend of the owner of the company - Jared Wallis. So the list of services available for him was interestingly longer. The one he found particularly valuable was hiding a body. Being one of the best hitmen in the country, Theo obviously knew very well how to dispose of one, without any suspicion. But there were cases when it was a very difficult or tedious job, or he simply did not have the time to take care of it due to his other responsibilities or contracts. And Doza could make things disappear without a trace.

       But tonight he had no offers to clear the streets of Manchester of villains, so he just called some friends and they all agreed to a night out in a bar. He left his apartment around 9pm and slowly walked to the bar, enjoying the delicate chill of the night. When they were all there, they sat in a booth and ordered some beers. The conversation was pleasant, just some casual chatting about what was happening in their lives, interrupted with outbursts of laughter at trivial and ridiculous stories. Theo enjoyed it for a while but then his mind started becoming bored again. His gaze was drifting around the bar, looking for a potential victim for later, just to soothe his temper.

       There was a loud 'fuck you' heard over the music and general chatter of the bar, followed by an explosion of amusement. Theo's head snapped up in the direction of the noise and his look landed on the group of people sitting in the booth right by the bar. They were all sitting really close to each other, obviously making fun of the man situated at the edge of the seat. But he was not the most interesting form the group. There was a man - wearing all black, his face half-serious, smile not really reaching his eyes. And those eyes... So incredibly blue even in the dimmed light of the bar, so deep and sad. Theo felt a delicate twitch in his stomach, when the gaze of that man slid through his silhouette. How did he know Theo was watching him?

„You okay, Theo? You look weird.” commented Tom sitting on his left.

„Yeah, great.” he said absent-mindedly, not interested in anything that was not the man he had just spotted.

       Theo was not gay, that's for sure – his whole life admiring women's beauty and enjoying sex with them. But he has always been potentially bi-curious. And there was _something_ about that man, something that made Theo feel possessive, after just a few glances at him. He's never even talked to him, just saw him sitting there, obviously not fitting in with his stupid 'friends'. But he felt like he had to make sure the man in black clothes was _his_. Oh, that was glorious, almost like a hunt again. Actually, it was a hunt, but this time not to kill. Now it was all about catching the prey and _keeping_ it. That man's every move was filled with undescribed grace and casualness. The way he was observing people around him, eyes sliding through the crowd, long fingers clenched around the glass with some alcohol, perfect full lips touching it, taking a sip and being licked with only a tip of the tongue. For god's sake, it was absolutely maddening, Theo felt his trousers getting too tight and thought: ‘ _Who the fuck is he?_ ’

            He has never wanted a relationship and never had one. It was boring, weighted with responsibilities and dull expectations. But right now, all he wanted was to get to know that mysterious man, find out everything about him and make sure they spend _a lot_ of time together. It was nothing like he had ever felt before.

Theo needed a good plan, some reason to approach the object of his new obsession, and a simple idea came up in his head at once.

„Would you do me a favour?” he asked his mates, looking at them with a casual smirk on his face.

„Sure, what do you need?” asked Dan, always interested in Theo's schemes, knowing exactly how interesting things could get.

„Could you poke them around a little bit? Just make them angry, maybe start a little fight? Nothing serious, though.” Theo said, pointing at the group. That was nothing new, they used to start brawls just out of sheer boredom, resulting with few broken bones, drunkenly yelled insults and a general fuss.

„And what would that be for?”

„I'm actually interested in the guy on the left, the one in black clothes. Need to talk to him.”

„Why won't you just go and talk then? You know him?”

„No, but I _want_ to.” said Theo, his eyes turning almost black. Dan knew that look very well. He wasn't sure what it meant, but it was a clue to do as Theo wants. But there was still something stupid about his request.

„Are you going to beat him up to start a conversation? Not a very nice way to say _hello_ , you know.” His eyebrows furrowed, mind a little bit clouded with alcohol.

„Oh no, I don't think he'll join the fight. We will probably leave together, so I should say my goodbyes now. I'll call you tomorrow, all right?” Not waiting for the answer and ignoring the surprised looks on their faces, he got up and asked „Shall we?”

At the very moment Theo turned around, so did his man. He squeezed himself between two of his companions and went to the bar. ' _Oh, this is just perfect._ ' Theo thought and started maneuvering between the tables. He was sure Dan was following him, so he approached his prey by his left side, to give Dan the opportunity to situate himself closer to the soon-to-be fight. He waved at the bartender, ordered four beers and turned his gaze to the man he was there for.

„Hi. I'm Theo.” he said conversationally, a casual smile on his face, right hand put out for the other man to shake.

„Adam.” was the response and those long fingers wrapped around Theo's. His hand was really warm and surprisingly soft, but the tips of his fingers hardened, like he was used to playing an instrument with strings. Theo had no idea what to say next, his mind suddenly blank, drowning in those bottomless eyes. Luckily, Dan was doing his job, stumbling onto one of Adam's mates and provoking a loud „What the fuck man? Watch your step!” He chaotically waved his long arm, nudging a half-empty glass of beer standing on the table and spilling it across the men's thighs. They all started yelling and the rest of Theo's mates were already approaching them to create even more fuss.

„Oh god, what a bunch of children.” Theo rolled his eyes and added „I'm so done babysitting them.”

Adam chuckled and said: „Yeah, same here.”

„You wanna get out of here? I'm so pissed, I could use a sobering walk in that cold air outside.” Theo asked deceitfully.

„Yeah, sure. Why not...” Adam responded, turning his back on Theo and leaving the bar. Hutchcraft followed him - the ordered beers immediately forgotten - walking really close, and right by the door he came up with an idea - he controllingly tripped over the doorstep and his arms landed on Adam's back. ‘ _Just to touch him, only for a second._ ’

„Whoa, you okay mate?” he asked with genuine concern.

„Drunkenly fine, sorry about that. I tripped.”

„It's fine. Let's go sober up.” Adam responded with a smile - a beautiful smile that made Theo grin like a stupid teenager. “Although I’m not really as drunk as you might assume. I smell like a damn distillery cause Mike spilled his vodka on my shirt.” Adam felt like he had to clarify that. ‘ _Why would I say that? Maybe I am that drunk after all._ ’ he thought.

       They were walking along the edge of Irwell River, really close to each other. First moments of the conversation were as ordinary as possible: where are you from, what football team are you a fan of, what are your interests. There it turned out they both were totally crazy about music, so they talked about their favourite artists, discussed bands, videos and genres of music in general.

„I'm actually in a band right now, with the guys from the bar.” Adam said with a half-smile on his face.

„Are you kidding me right now? So am I! I'm a singer!” shouted Theo, excited about the perfect similarities between them. Because he really was in a band – it was his cover-job. He was earning enough money from his hitman occupation, so he could lead a careless life. But everyone like him needed an alibi, therefore he needed an actual job. And so, he chose singing. As abstract as it might seem, he loved singing. He couldn't have imagined doing anything else, everything in the world was just so _boring_.

„Really? I'm a guitarist. I mean, it's my favourite instrument. I also play piano and do a lot of music on synthesizers and my computer. But my band actually sucks, to be honest. You saw them in the bar, you can tell what kind of people they are. I've been thinking about quitting for some time.” Adam's voice turned sad, all of a sudden, and Theo looked at his face – his eyes the colour of the ocean during the storm, lower lip trapped between his teeth. He felt the urgent need to grab this man, hide him in his arms and protect from the world. He wanted to give him everything he ever wanted, make him the happiest person on the planet. But he couldn't. Not _yet_.

„My band is an absolute shit too. I am with them only because I can't really play any instrument all that well and I can’t go a capella all the time. Music is the most important thing for me, I can't give up on it. But those guys are... I just feel like they're smothering me, you know? I write my own lyrics, a lot actually, but they're always saying it's crap and they want to change everything. So I just stopped discussing it, I write for myself.” Theo did not realize how much of a burden that was for him, until he said it. How was Adam doing it? Making him aware of the problem he did not even know was so serious? That man was truly remarkable.

„Maybe we should both quit our bands and start one together then.” Adam's words interrupted Theo's thoughts and he absent-mindedly mumbled „Yeah, maybe.”

            They were walking in silence for couple of minutes, each of them thinking about their own problems. The silence was not in any way awkward, they both seemed to feel good just enjoying each other's presence.

***

„Where are we going, anyway?” Adam asked after about two hours since they've left the bar. That time felt like barely three minutes.

„I don't know, I'm just following you,” came the honest response, and Theo looked around.

„Me? I don't even know this part of the city, I was just walking forwards!” the blue-eyed man's voice was filled with amusement.

„Are you telling me we're lost? Let's just find some main road.” Both smiling, they started walking towards the more lit and wider street ahead of them, leaving the dark alley behind. After about eight hundred yards, they reached the street with some actual traffic. There was a familiar bus stop and Theo yelled „Hey, I know where we are! My flat is two streets away, over there.”

„Well, that's a relief.”

„Where do you live?” asked Theo, suddenly very curious about Adam's address.

„I... I'm actually kinda homeless at the moment. I'm staying at my friend's place on the other side of Manchester, one of those from the bar. He should be home already, I think. I don't have the keys.” His eyebrows frowned and sadness took over his face again. Realizing that, he tried to mock the situation: „I hope your mates haven't beaten them up too badly.”

„You can sleep at my place tonight, if you want to. I've got a free couch.” the words left Theo's mouth before he took the time to think about it.

„Oh. Thanks, but I guess I'll just-”

„Come on, man, you've just said it's on the other side of the city. It'll take you at least an hour to get there. What's the worst that could happen?”

„Well, my mom did always say to be responsible and not talk to strangers.” he said mockingly „I don't know you. You could kill me in my sleep.” Adam joked, absolutely not aware of the truthfulness of this sentence. But in his case, Theo did not plan on doing such thing.

„Fuck responsible,” he snapped with a smirk „Anyway, I'm still too drunk to kill you in your sleep, so you're safe for tonight. Let's go.” He patted Adam's shoulder and started walking. After few seconds he heard steps behind his back and smiled to himself, ridiculously happy.

As they entered the apartment, Theo threw his keys and wallet onto the coffee table in the small living room. He told Adam to take off his coat and showed him around.

„The couch is all yours, I'll just get you a pillow and blanket. I can also find some t-shirt and pyjama bottoms if you want.”

„No, don't bother, I'll be just fi-” Theo saw his embarrassment and interrupted before he managed to finish the sentence.

„Nah, sure you do. You can't sleep in vodka-drowned shirt, I'll find something.” he said with a wink and entered his bedroom. He nervously looked at the wardrobe and fished out his best pj's and favourite t-shirt – thank god he made his laundry yesterday. ' _What the fuck are you doing Hutchcraft? You're gonna scare him away. Slow the fuck down._ ' he scolded himself and re-emerged in the small living room. He handed the clothes to Adam, who was now staring out through the window, and received a beautiful, grateful smile in return. „You need anything else? Tea? Water? Sandwich?”

„No, I'm great, thanks.”

„Ok, so... Good night, then.”

„Good night.”

       Theo went to the bedroom, changed into his pyjamas and sat on the bed. ' _He's on the other side of that wall. Just a couple of feet away._ ' He laid down and stared at the ceiling, rewinding their conversation in his head. ' _Will he just go away in the morning?_ '

       Restless thoughts had kept him awake for another hour before he gave up on sleeping, and decided to go and take a look at Adam. ' _But I can't just go and stare, what if he wakes up? Kitchen! I have to go through the living room to get there. I'll go to get some water, not creepy at all._ ' He emerged from the bedroom and saw Adam's silhouette, curled and wrapped with a blanket. Theo crossed the room slowly, his eyes lingering on the couch. It was too dark to see his guest's face properly, but it was enough to make his heart skip a beat. He entered the kitchen and, with lights still out not to wake Adam up, he reached to the cupboard for a glass. Despite the fact of being extremely cautious and precise at his hitman occupation, in everyday life he was one of the clumsiest people on the planet. So naturally – he grabbed the glass in a wrong way and dropped it on the floor with a loud _bang_. A muffled „shit” escaped his mouth as he bent to pick the fortunately-not-broken glass up.

„Are you okay?” he heard behind his back and turned around at once. Adam was sitting on the couch, looking into his direction.

„Yeah, I just dropped the glass. Sorry, didn't mean to wake you.”

„It's fine, I wasn't sleeping anyway.”

„Can't sleep either?” Theo asked with a small smile and switched the lights on.

„Apparently.”

„You want some tea then?” he offered, a small spark of hope for further conversation rising near his heart.

„Sure, why not.”

       Theo filled the kettle, took out two mugs – not dropping anything this time – and put the teabags inside. While the water was boiling he went to the living room and sat beside Adam. A moment of awkward silence made him ask the first question that popped into his head: „You get those sleepless night often?”

„More than I'd wish.” Adam responded „Ironically, it's usually when I'm insanely tired, like I'm too exhausted to even sleep.”

„I know the feeling. It's so bizarre.” They both chuckled and relaxed.

As the water boiled, Theo went to the kitchen and filled the mugs.

„Milk? Sugar?” he asked.

„Two sugars, please.” Adam answered and Theo snickered muttering „Same for me.”

He re-entered the living room, handed Adam the steaming beverage and set his own on the table. Approaching the stereo, he eyed his CD collection and decided for his favourite album.

„Depeche Mode's 'Violator' all right?” he asked Adam before inserting it.

„Definitely, it's my favourite.” His answer made Theo burst with laughter and a confused look appeared on his face. „Why are you laughing? What did I say?”

„It's my favourite too. I just feel like I should stop asking because all your answers will be the same as mine.” He sat on the couch again, this time a little bit closer to the other man.

„Ok, let's see. Chocolate or vanilla?” Adam asked with a playful smile.

„Always chocolate! You?”

„Chocolate for life. A night out or stay-in?”

„Nice to go out sometimes, but generally I prefer to stay here.”

„Ditto.”

„Oh, you like staying here?” Theo teased him.

„What? No, no, sorry, that's not what I meant!” he said quickly with a sheepish expression.

„I know, relax mate, I'm just kidding.” he calmed Adam down with a smile and added: „But it's cool, you can always come here if you want to.” ' _was that too much?_ ' Theo's thoughts went into panic mode momentarily, but Adam interrupted: „Thank you.” A sincere gratitude in his voice made Theo look at him and their eyes met for a long moment.

„Black or white?” Adam suddenly said, looking away.

„Definitely black.”

„Oh my god, me too. And I'm not asking any more questions 'cause this is getting creepy.” he said causing them both to laugh again.

„You're probably right.” ' _but I want to know everything about you._ ' Theo thought but decided to wait with his questions.

There was a moment of silence and then, Adam's eyes stopped at Theo's wallet, still placed on the table.

„Can I see?”

„Help yourself.” He waved his hand in the direction of the wallet. “But why?”

„You can find out a lot from people's wallets.” His blue eyes sparkled with craftiness. He picked up the wallet, opened it and started taking things out. „A discount card from a restaurant – looks like you use it a lot, so probably your favourite.”

„Yeah, it's this little place two streets away, they have the best chinese in whole Manchester.”

„Driving license. Oh, you're two years younger than me.”

„Really? I guess the age difference fades away sometime around high school graduation, doesn't it?”

„True that. The next is a receipt for a... wow, apparently a very nice suit,” he stated with a smirk after looking at the price.

„It is _very_ nice, indeed.” Theo agreed, smiling as well.

„Business cards of a... recording company and a studio, so you're obviously in a music industry – I already knew that. Some foreign currency, which means you travel. Euros?”

„I was in Germany last week.” he said, trying to hide a slight nervousness, as he was in Germany with a job – not music related. „Got some family there,” he lied promptly.

„Cool. I've never been abroad. Actually, I've left Manchester only three or four times in my life.”

„If I remember correctly, we've agreed to start a band tomorrow. I plan to succeed, so we'll be going places.” he said reassuringly and a moment later they both bursted with laughter.

When they finally stopped laughing, Theo looked at Adam and said with admiration „That was absolutely awesome.”

„What, the wallet thing?” asked the blue-eyed man, smiling modestly. „My father showed me that a long time ago. Probably the only valuable thing I've ever learned from him.”

„Crapy childhood and daddy issues? I can relate to that.” The taller man said with a fair dose of sadness in his eyes. „But it's over, I don't think about it anymore. I've got this life now and he has nothing to do with it.”

„Should I take it as an advice?”

„If you want to.” Another small smile and prolonged look into each other’s eyes.

       Theo felt a wave of heat going through his body and it made him realize how cold it actually was in the room. „It's cold in here," he said with a frown and got up. He went to the radiator located under the window and re-set it to produce more heat. Then he headed to his bedroom for something more to wear, but decided to just grab his duvet. Wrapping himself with it, he came back to the living room and fell onto the couch, where Adam was already hidden under his blanket.

       Curled up on the settee, they continued talking for about an hour. After that time, less and less words were leaving their mouths and eventually, they both fell asleep.

***

       Theo woke up the next day, feeling a little bit overheated. He noticed his duvet and Adam's blanket wrapped around him messily, but the main source of warmth was the man himself, holding Theo closely in a tight grip. Hutchcraft smiled to himself, remembering yesterday's conversation and relishing the closeness between them. Waking up in Adam's arms was a marvelous feeling and he turned his head to look at the man’s face. Unfortunately, the movement woke Adam up as well, and for a moment Theo saw an expression of utter confusion in those startlingly blue eyes, before he started moving away.

„Sorry, I always do that.” he said with embarrassment, untangling his limbs from around Theo fastly.

„Do what?”

„Cuddle everything and everyone that is near me when I'm asleep.”

„That's actually adorable.” Theo commented before he thought about it, not entirely woken up yet. Adam blushed.

„Yeah, maybe. To the point when you wake up spooning a girlfriend of your friend instead of your own while camping.” ' _He has a girlfriend. I haven't even thought about asking. So stupid._ '

„Oh, that's really not so good. So you have a girlfriend then?”

„No, that was... a long time ago, fortunately. You?”

„No, not really my thing.”

„Not your… So a boyfriend?”

„No, not a boyfriend either. But I meant relationships in general. At least until recently, because now I'm starting to wonder if it might, in fact, be something worth the effort. But I don't know... I'd probably be a crapy boyfriend.”

„I don't think so.”

„Oh really? You wanna test that theory?” he said provocatively, but in a form of a joke, not really intending to offer anything.

„I...” Adam's eyes widened and locked with Theo's for ten long seconds. He moved closer and then suddenly stopped less than an inch away from Theo's lips, looking at him and silently asking for permission. Delicate fingers touched his face, gently ghosting over the cheek and tugging on his chin. Theo joined their lips together in a gentle, shy kiss, barely a brush of mouths. It felt better than kissing anyone before, so he shifted on the couch to be closer and his hand wandered up to cup Adam's cheek. He felt Adam smile at that and opened his eyes to look at him for a moment. When the blue eyes opened as well, he was mesmerized with their depth. He leaned down and kissed him again, deepening the touch this time, the tip of his tongue probing against the soft lips. The guitarist opened his mouth and Theo felt his sweet breath sweeping him, hot tongues colliding. They were both breathing heavily soon enough, but did not break the contact nevertheless. Suddenly, Theo felt Adam's strong hands on his chest as the older man pushed back and straddled him. He released a small chuckle and continued the dance of their tongues, his hands sliding down Adam's back and stopping at his arse. The man on top changed his position slightly and their growing erections - separated only by thin layers of clothing - met, causing them both to moan. Theo tugged the edge of Adam's shirt and then his warm fingers were travelling underneath it, making Adam feel like every touch was leaving a hot red line behind.

„No, wait. This is crazy.” the blue-eyed man retreated abruptly.

„Good. I like crazy. Crazy's fascinating.” Theo said, nuzzling his neck, placing small kisses and gentle bites there. His hand was stroking its way up Adam's thigh, aiming for the visible bulge in his pyjama bottoms. When the long fingers reached their destination, a deep sigh left Adam’s mouth and he leaned down to kiss Theo again, forgetting his hesitation at once.

            After a few more minutes of a half-shy rubbing against each other and getting to know each other’s bodies, both their shirts landed on the floor. Adam lowered himself to trace the path of kisses from Theo’s neck and down to his chest, his lips circling around the nipple. He bit it not-so-gently and the wave of pleasure went through Theo’s body. His hips moved up from the couch despite Adam’s weight pinning him down, and a very audible groan formed in his throat. He felt Adam smiling at that and coming back up to kiss him on the lips again. Both their hands traveled down, tugging on the pyjama bottoms and brushing against each other’s erections. They quickly got rid of the remaining clothes and the guitarist’s fingers wrapped around both of them. He started moving his hand slowly, the thumb brushing gently but the rest of the palm squeezing them together, pre-come leaking and providing the pleasant slickness of the movement.

„You like that?” asked Adam with a smirk.

„Yee-ah, keep doing that.” but only a moment later Theo had to add: “Ooh, Adam… This is so…” he breathed, not able to compound a full sentence. Adam has barely touched him and he was so close already, if things will continue this way he’ll finish embarrassingly early. “Just g-give me.. a moment.” He pleaded, wanting to regain at least a shred of control.

“Why?” demanded Adam with an impossibly low voice and, underneath his own fingers, Theo felt his stomach contracting from pleasure as well. ‘ _He’s so close too._ ’ The hand kept going up and down.

“Adam… I’m gonna…” he didn’t get to finish the sentence as the overwhelming wave of pleasure was brought onto him. His head thumped over the back of the couch, back arched, voice and breath got caught up in his throat. Adam’s lips were pressed over his own once again, kisses sloppy but still full of eagerness. After a few moments a long moan left Theo’s mouth and the sound he articulated was enough to push Adam over the edge as well. His teeth were clenching on Theo’s collarbone, the hand not occupied with stroking their cocks - pressed against his chest.

            They were both breathing heavily, their mixed come splattered over their stomachs. Adam leaned over Theo, lips gently brushing over the love bite he left there only seconds earlier.

“You are amazing.” Theo stated after he got his breath back and looked at Adam who now moved over to sit by his side, one leg still spread over his thighs nevertheless. A beautiful, shy smile brightened his face and the blue eyes landed on Theo’s and they kissed again, slowly and deliberately.

“Shower?” Theo offered.

“Yeah, definit-“ he started talking but then looked around with confusion and asked: “what time is it?”

“Almost 11.”

“Oh no! I’m supposed to meet the guys at 1. We have to make a soundcheck for tonight and I need to get some fresh clothes from Mike’s apartment. Shit, I’m never gonna make it in time.” He wrinkled his nose in annoyance and got up hastily.

“Where’s the soundcheck? Is it far from here?”

“It’s at 42nd Street Nightclub. Actually… where exactly am I?” he glanced towards the window disorientated and made Theo chuckle.

“It’s a thirty-minute walk from here. Relax.” He said as he got up from the couch and approached Adam to tug on his elbow gently and pull him closer. “We can take that shower now and I’ll lend you some clothes and then walk you to the club.” He offered, his face getting closer to Adam’s and their lips almost touching now.

“O-okay. But I can just wear my yesterday’s-“

“No. You’ll take my clothes and then you will _have to_ come back here to give them back, won’t you?” He said with a vicious smirk, mischief glowing in his eyes.

“Oh, you have everything planned out here, I see.” Adam responded with a snicker and met Theo’s lips.

            They moved towards the bathroom and took a hot shower involving a lot of grabbing, kissing and caressing. After they toweled and clothed themselves – Adam put on his own trousers and got a nice dark-blue shirt and a black elegant jacked from Theo’s wardrobe – they left the apartment to stop by at a café nearby and grab some coffee with sandwiches for breakfast. Then, they kept walking and talking about everything and anything. The conversation went on easily, just like the night before.

“We’re here.” Theo stated after some time, pointing at the shady club across the street. Adam eyed it suspiciously and sarcastically commented: “Well, that looks promising.”

“It’s not that bad inside, I’ve actually seen some good bands there.” Theo tried to console the guitarist.

“Would you like to see a shitty one tonight? We’ll be playing around 10pm.” He offered uncertainly and got Theo’s eager reaction: “Sure, I’d love to! And I’m sure you’ll be great.”

“Okay then.” Adam glanced at his phone to check the time and reluctantly said: “I’d better go. See you tonight?” he wanted to make sure one more time.

“Of course. We can go somewhere afterwards if you want to.” The suggestion left his mouth before he managed to think about it. ‘ _Why do I do that around him all the time? Control yourself, Hutchcraft._ ’

“It’s a date.” Adam said, quickly gave Theo a delicate peck on the lips and was already halfway across the street before Theo realized he was grinning like an idiot.

*** one month later ***

            Adam had some family stuff going on for last four days and had to leave Manchester – what a long four days they were. When he’d called Theo and asked if they could meet, Theo was already halfway out of his building before they even hung up. He entered the park they'd agreed to meet in, and saw Adam waiting for him by one of the benches. Hutchcraft walked into his direction and managed to surprise him from behind with a small peck on his cheek. He was so easy to sneak up on.

„Hi!” Adam said with a gorgeous smile as he turned around. „What's with the stubble?” he added the moment he saw Theo's three-days-old facial hair.

„Didn't get the chance to shave, I was in too much hurry to see you.” Theo said and pulled Adam closer, to kiss him properly. „Missed you those couple of days.” he said after they tore apart and started walking.

„We talked on the phone like five times a day!” Adam said with disbelief, but also a smile.

„So you did not miss me?” Theo responded with a question, his face bearing an expression of simulated absolute sadness.

„Oh, I don't know. Let me think.” Adam teased him, bursting with laughter right after that, as Theo theatrically clenched a hand to his heart and pretended to cry. „Of course I missed you.” he assured, earning another kiss.

„Good. Now let's go.” Hutchcraft commented with a grin and then added: “You are an extraordinary kisser. I might even be a little bit jealous about all the practice you must have gotten to get to that point.”

“Well, you are the one who’s benefiting from all that practice now, aren’t you?” asked Adam with an impish expression.

            They enjoyed a long walk around the beautiful park, talking and laughing the whole time.

„Damn, it's cold today.” commented Adam after a while, rubbing his hands.

„We can go to my place and I'll make you warm again.” said Theo with a sly smile, placing a promising kiss on Adam's lips.

„Sure, I'd love a cup of hot tea, actually.” Adam teased him again.

„I did not mean tea.”

„I know exactly what you meant. And I still want tea.” he responded with a small smile, nuzzling Theo's neck with his cold nose.

„Fine. I will give you the damn tea and then make you forget all about it, before you get the chance to take the first sip.” His eyes went darker as he looked at Adam with lust and led him out of the park.

            A couple of minutes later they were already entering the warm apartment. Theo shrugged his coat off and went straight to the kitchen to put the kettle on. While the water was boiling he came back to the living room to join Adam on the couch.

“You really did get cold.” He commented with a frown as he grabbed the guitarist’s ice-cold hands. He gently kissed both of them and then moved up to Adam’s lips. Theo’s fingers started travelling along his upper body, gradually going lower and lower, dexterously unbuttoning the shirt. He stopped by the belt of his trousers for a moment, only to hear a small huff coming from Adam, so he continued, opening the buckle and unzipping the fly. He moved away from Adam’s lips, traced the line of his jaw and sucked on the neck to leave a red mark. Then, he backed out completely to look at his lover’s wonderful face – eyes closed, mouth half-open and reddened from kissing, a slight frown of his eyebrows indicating the acknowledgement of the pleasure coming from Theo’s hand brushing against his growing erection.

“Up.” Theo commanded, giving a slight tap on his hips to let him know to lift them and enable taking the trousers and pants off.

            Adam’s eyelids opened, revealing dilated pupils and thin, dark-blue circles of irises around them. His intense gaze was following Theo’s every move, watching him go onto his knees in front of the couch and push the guitarist’s legs apart to situate himself between them. With their eyes locked together, Theo lowered his head and the very tip of his tongue touched Adam's now-fully-erect penis. A sharp intake of breath from the man on the couch only encouraged the singer to continue, so he slid his tongue along Adam's whole length, tasting the bitter-salty precome that was already there. The mouth finally closed around him and the immense hotness combined with a gentle sucking made him arch his back. As his hips moved up as well, Theo had to hold him down to avoid causing the unpleasant gag reflex. His eyes focused on the contractions of the muscles on Adam's stomach and firm fingers landed on the left side of his pubic area, right at the junction of his thigh and hip. The loudest of moans escaped Adam's throat and Theo's eyes snapped right back to his face, _'Did I just find a sweet spot?'_ occurred to him. He curiously moved his hand to the same location on the right side of Adam's body and earned only a small whine. _'Interesting_.' he thought as his hand went back to the left pelvis making Adam rock his hips and clench both fists.

            His mouth was moving around Adam's shaft all the time, his tongue licking and nudging. He hollowed his cheeks and felt a heavy hand on the back of his head, long fingers going through his hair and pressing down delicately.

“Theo, I… 'm close” warned Adam suddenly, to give Theo time to pull back. But he didn't. Instead, his right hand travelled up and cupped his balls, squeezing them gently but firmly.

“Ooooh fuck, Theo... Aah...” Adam was squirming under Theo's touch, all his muscles clenching, toes curling. Hot, bitter come spilled inside Theo's mouth as he continued his sucking coordinated with the pressure of his fingers and Adam's frantic movements.

            A few moments later he pulled back with an obscene _pop_ , swallowing the content of his mouth and unzipping and sliding down his own trousers that were uncomfortably trapping his aching erection. He teasingly dragged the tip of his tongue right above Adam's belly button - the only little spot on his body, that was ticklish - and then sat back on the couch. He kissed Adam, getting a passionate response, and felt a hot hand on his pants. Calloused tips of those long fingers slipped underneath the already-wet fabric and made him moan with pleasure. Only a few quick, firm strokes were enough to make him come as well. The wave of the orgasm went through him, making him feel Adam's touch more intensely than he ever thought possible.

            Hot, eager lips have met again and Adam’s tongue slid inside Theo’s mouth - the combined taste of Theo’s amazing sweetness and his own come still perceptible on the dark-eyed man’s tongue made him shiver. Their limbs were tangling together, both of them coming down from the high of their orgasms.

***

            They were sitting snuggled on the couch, watching a movie they've picked earlier and enjoying the promised hot tea. Adam looked quite sleepy, his eyelids falling down every few seconds. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and he noticed Theo staring at him.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

 _‘Because I love you.’_ He thought calmly but the look on Adam’s face got him alarmed - his bewilderment indicated that something was wrong. And then Theo realized his mistake. “Oh my god, did I say that at loud?”

“Yes you did.” His hand resting on Theo’s chest tightened in a small grip of his shirt, trying to calm down the frantic beating of the heart trapped inside his chest. “I love you too.” Adam responded and this time Theo was the shocked one. ‘ _He loves me. He loves **me** too. He LOVES me._ ’ Theo’s mind was racing, but his body felt paralyzed. Adam smiled at him and the sparkle in his eyes made Theo move at last. He pulled himself closer and kissed Adam.

„But there's something about you...” Adam started talking after a while. It felt like he wanted to say something more, but did not finish the sentence. After a moment of silence Theo asked: „Care to elaborate?”

„I don't know, actually. Sometimes I just have a feeling that I should not hang out with you.” he said with a chuckle, his hand scrubbing along his face. „You dangerous?” he asked, smiling and gave Theo a small peck on the lips. ' _Oh, you have no idea'_ Theo thought, but said something slightly different.

„You're probably right.” a sly smile appeared on his face and his eyes turned a little bit darker. „I have a feeling that I should not let you hang out with me either, but I'm too selfish to actually do that. You're _mine_ now.” He put another soft kiss on Adam's lips, his tongue sliding inside his mouth and making him sigh quietly.

            He actually meant what he said. Adam was so good and innocent and Theo was afraid to ruin that with his dark personality and secrets. Couple of times before he considered letting Adam go, but the mere thought of that was too repulsive to contemplate for more than two minutes. Theo might be a hitman, but a damn good one, so he'll be able to protect Adam from anything. No need to worry. ' _Right?_ '

***

            The next morning, after Adam left, Theo called Jared Wallis – his best friend, who happened to be the founder of Doza. He asked to meet him, casually saying that he just wanted to get a drink and talk. For some reason, their once-frequent meetings got reduced to rare encounters and phone calls. Hutchcraft actually missed their talks, so he was very happy to hear Jared's enthusiastic agreement for a night out.

            They've met in a bar around 9pm, ordered drinks – gin&tonic for Theo and scotch for Jared – and went to sit in a moderately isolated corner of the room, that allowed them to talk freely.

„So, my friend... What happened?” Wallis started the conversation.

„Why do you think something happened?”

„Well, you called asking for a meeting and now you're sitting here all mysterious and puzzled, obviously wanting to tell me something.”

„You know me too well.” he said and they both laughed. ”Anyway... Maybe I'll just get right to it - I'm thinking about quitting.”

„Quitting what?” Jared asked with a baffled expression.

„The business. I don't want to do it anymore.”

„But what are you even talking about? You're the best hitman in the country. You have a great career and even better things to come! You can't just quit. What could have possibly happened to make you consider it?” His confusion was turning into anger, as he realized his best friend was talking about giving it all up. He was a freelancer now, but with the right connections and a little bit of hard work he could be so much more, maybe even the boss of ‘the edge of the criminal world’ as he liked to call it.

„I think I've found the love of my life.”

„Are you shitting me right now? The most dangerous man I have ever known _has fallen in love_? May I remind you the conversation we had only a couple of months ago? 'Relationships are bullshit, one-night stands are everything I will ever need.' - your exact words!”

„I remember. But that was before...”

„Oh. Interesting” he said in a mocking voice. „And does the love of your life have a name?”

„Adam.” Theo said, not able to stop a dreamy smile from appearing on his face.

„Adam? You mean, as if...?”

„Yeah, he's a guy. You've got a problem with that?” he became hostile within a second.

„No, not at all.” Jared put his hands up in a defensive gesture. „I just wasn't expecting it. You've always been quite a ladies man.” he pointed out with a smirk and the atmosphere loosened.

„True that.” Theo chuckled and took a sip from his glass.

„But I still don't understand why would you wanna quit the business. Is he forbidding you or-” realization crawled onto his face. „Oh. He doesn't know, does he?”

„No. And I would like to keep it that way. He's not from this world and there is no need for him to get sucked into it. It's too dangerous, you know that.”

„So what? You're just gonna cut yourself off completely? Forget all the requests and contacts? Me included?”

„No, of course not. You're my best friend, nothing changes that. I will simply stop using Doza's services, I guess.” his expression went wistful for a moment and then he continued: „But this is all hypothetical for now. I plan to slow down a little bit and see how things will go.”

„Good to hear that.” relief was clear in Jared's voice. There was a pause in the conversation, both of them contemplating their own thoughts. Few minutes later Jared spoke again: „So tell me more about him. Where did you meet? What is he like?”

„Perfect.”

            Further conversation was pleasant, Theo dwelled on all of Adam's features with flushed cheeks, praising him with all the words he could have found. Jared mocked and teased him a little bit about acting like a teenager talking about his first love, but in fact he was truly delighted to see his best friend like that. Theo has changed, he was no longer grumpy and serious for most of the time – he seemed to be genuinely happy.

            Then, the rest of the night they've spent on discussing the usual subjects – sports, women, cars, a little bit of politics and good suits.

***

            Couple of days later Theo was walking down the main road with a bag of takeout in his hand. He was heading to his apartment, where Adam was already waiting for him to bring dinner. The singer's excitement was visible - wide grin on his face, eyes sparkling with happiness, fast pace of walking and quiet-but-still-audible singing under his breath. All that made people stare at him when he was passing, but he didn't care. For the first time in his life Theo did not mind people observing him. Actually, he wanted everybody to see how happy he was. Despite his relationship with Adam having passed the actual declaration of love and absolute sureness of their feelings for each other, it was all still new. Weird and partially awkward, but in a funny way. There was no tension between them, just getting to know each other.

            As much as Theo would love that, they weren't seeing each other every day. They had little breaks, some evenings spent just texting or exchanging messages online, some days not talking at all. Theo hated those quiet days, wanting to know about every second of Adam's life, even if he was just brushing his teeth or doing grocery shopping. Everything about Adam was fascinating.

            But today was one of those evenings that they were going to spend together. Adam called him about an hour earlier, asking if they could hang out, because he's in the neighborhood and could come by. Theo was out, in the city, but agreed for a meeting right away. He told Adam to let himself into his apartment, using the key that was hidden under the doormat. The guitarist laughed at the cliché-obvious location of the key, but said he'll do just that. Theo informed he will be home in an hour or so, and promised to grab some dinner for them on his way there.

            He was running a little bit late, due to the line he had to wait in at the restaurant, so he sent a short text to Adam. He was telling himself he's being polite doing that, not wanting his guest to wait impatiently, but the truth was he just couldn't resist _any_ form of contact with the man.

            He was only three streets away from his apartment, taking the shortcut through some blocks, to be there faster. He looked around to see if there were any cars near him, in order to cross the street and it was then, when he realized he was being followed.

            A man in dark clothes, about four or five inches taller than Theo, steady, measured movements and short characteristic haircut suggesting some kind of military background. Not entirely professional though, as his following skills were very poor and he was childishly easy to notice.

            Usually, Theo would simply go to his apartment and wait for the situation to develop. He would figure out that man's intentions and confront him at a moment suitable for himself. Now however, there was Adam in his apartment, so leading a potential killer right onto his track was definitely not an option. Theo slowed down reasonably and turned right, into some dark, dead-end alley. He put the food down on the ground, hid himself in the shadow by one of the doorframes and waited for the man to emerge from around the corner. He mentally cursed his recent carelessness, resulting with not carrying any weapon right now. When the follower passed Theo and he was now situated behind him, he went out into the light and asked „Who are you?”

Surprised military man turned around on his heels and faced the hitman.

„I am here to give you a message from Mr. Fuller.” he emotionlessly stated, not even trying to pretend that he was not following him.

            Theo had to take a few seconds to remember who 'Mr. Fuller' was. One of the people who had sent him a name of a target. And the one he decided to politely refuse. After a few glances at the provided documents, Theo was actually more likely to kill Fuller himself, than the man he had pointed out, but he didn't have enough information to make a final decision yet. Apparently, he should have paid more attention to the background check on that particular man.

„I had sent a response to Mr. Fuller, saying that I will not take care of his problem. I believe I made myself clear, explaining my choice.”

„Well, it must have gotten lost in the mail, because my boss hired you and is still expecting you to take that piece of trash down.”

„Having such a valuable employees as yourself, why would he need me to take down a _piece of trash_? It shouldn't be a problem for you, if that's all he is.” Theo was intentionally being provocative, knowing exactly that they were talking about killing a man with a high position in government, always surrounded by security, bullet-proof windows and all-registering press.

„Oh, you think you're so clever, you smart-arse? It's Fuller's choice to let you do it, not the one I'm particularly happy about, but he's the boss.” he spit out the words, taking several steps towards Theo.

„No need for insults here. Tell your _boss_ that I am not interested in his job offer.” Theo said, taking a small step back, that suggested he was going to leave.

„Don't you wanna re-think that?” the military man said with a smirk on his face, his hand grabbing Theo's right arm. The mocking in his eyes turned into confusion and then shock, when Theo effortlessly and with impossible speed nailed him against the wall. His right forearm was blocking the air supply, elbow pressing the throat, hand on the shoulder. Theo's left hand was placed right under the man's chin, twisting his head uncomfortably. The weight of Hutchcraft's body was accumulated in his right side, his left knee lifted up and brutally squeezed into the taller man's stomach.

            Theo was just about to press his fingers into the man’s neck to skillfully block his bloodstream and knock him unconscious, when he saw a fist coming to hit his jaw. Intuitionally, he bent his knees to avoid it, took a small step back and put all his force into a punch to his attacker's stomach. The shock of Theo taking action was obviously gone and, despite the lack of intellect, the military man was a better fighter than expected, easily blocking his attack and hitting him instead. Theo felt all the air leaving his lungs as the perfectly aimed fist collided with his body. Coming from the downside, it did not reach his ribs but hit his liver. At the same time he felt his legs being swept and he landed hard on the ground, the back of his head hitting the concrete. Theo's vision blurred for two seconds, but right after that all his consciousness came back and he heard the man approaching his body. He let out a long moan and defenselessly waved his hand, pretending to still be overwhelmed with pain. This was not Theo’s favourite technique, as he always considered it as some sort of cowardice, but he sometimes had to adapt it to change the situation to his advantage quickly - faking weakness made the opponents feel confident enough to come too close for their own good.

            And exactly the way it was anticipated, the man neared and swung his leg to kick Theo into his chest. The hitman grabbed his foot and, holding it tightly, rolled onto the side, causing him to collapse hardly on the ground. Hutchcraft got up and seconds later his hands were gripping the other man's head again. It took only one smooth, firm movement and there was a loud _crack_ , indicating that the bones in the taller's man neck were broken. Wide, dead eyes were aimed at the sky.

            Theo straightened up and quickly assessed the situation. He had to get rid of the body, but there was no time - the entire encounter had already taken long enough to make Adam worry. He grabbed the dead man under his shoulders and moved him behind the old dumpsters, by one of the walls. He tucked his phone out of his pocket and typed a short text: _'Body. Urgent. Please go fast.'_ adding the address of the block he was standing next to, and sending it to Doza. In times like this, the organization was a blessing.

            His clothes were messed up, the unfastened coat all dirty from falling onto the ground, the buttons of not-white-anymore shirt mostly ripped off and lost. He felt a dull but intense pain in his stomach, an assurance of a huge bruise already forming. There was no possibility of hiding any of _that_ from Adam. ' _Think. Think! I need a plan._ ' he thought to himself and looked around. His gaze landed on the bag of takeout he was carrying before and an idea came to his mind. Leaving the food where it was, he turned around fastly and started walking, but regretted the sudden movement right away, as a sharp pain resonating from his right side went through his body. Slowing down, he carefully took a deep breath and continued walking towards his apartment.

            Less than fifteen minutes later he was already there, taking out his keys and opening the door. He heard a quiet murmuring of the telly and saw Adam getting up from the couch.

„Hey! I was starting to worr-” he noticed the state Theo was in and run the rest of the distance between them, his fingertips gingerly touching Theo's face. „What happened to you?” he asked with an extreme amount of concern in his voice.

„I got mugged.” he answered, leaning on Adam's shoulder and allowing to be lead to the couch.

„Are you all right? What happened? Should I call the police?” Adam was starting to panic, his eyes wide and full of worry.

„No! No police.”

„But-”

„I can't remember his face. I took the shortcut through the blocks, and he just came out of nowhere. Pushed me to the ground and then kicked. He seriously just grabbed the food and run away, not even trying to take my wallet or phone. I don't know what actually happened there. Maybe he was just hungry? People are crazy...” telling the short, made-up story all at once, he tried to avoid Adam’s multiple questions.

„But are you sure you don't remember his face? Maybe you should give a statement to the police anyway?” Adam kept insisting.

„No, there's no point, I haven't even actually seen his face. He fled and chasing him was not really my priority, you know.” he said sharply and added right away: „Sorry, didn't mean to snap at you.”

„No, it's fine. But how can I help you then? Are you okay?” that genuine concern still in his eyes, gentle fingers brushing Theo's hand.

„Umm... I have this jelly-cold-compress-thing in the freezer. Can you bring it, please? And maybe my pyjama bottoms.” The punch he had earned was perfectly aimed, but not strong enough to make any severe damage. Theo's experience with multiple injuries was sufficient to be sure that he had no internal bleeding - he remembered exactly how that felt. There was no need to go to the hospital, the cold compress will minimize the swelling and bruising.

„Sure.” Adam stood up and went to the kitchen. Theo undid the remaining buttons of his shirt and gingerly took it off, revealing a big red-purple bruise forming around his lower right rib the exact moment Adam re-entered the room, causing him to stop with horror on his face.

„Oh my god, Theo.”

„It's fine, I'll be okay.”

„But this looks serious, maybe we should get you to the hospital?” Adam handed him the bag of the jelly substance wrapped with a thin towel as Theo sat down. The freezing cold was definitely not pleasant at first contact, but after just a moment it brought relief in pain.

„No, I really am all right. It's just a bruise, no severe damage.” He closed his eyes and felt Adam sitting beside him gingerly. „But I've lost our dinner.” Theo continued, trying to divert Adam's attention. „There are some left-overs in the fridge but maybe we should just order something.” A moment of thought made him realize that he should not, in fact, eat anything with an injury of this kind. „Although... I think I got hit right into my liver. I can't eat, I'll just drink some water. But you order.”

„You can't eat? How do you even know these stuff? You sound like it's not the first time you got something like that.” Adam commented with disapproval.

„Maybe.” A mischievous smile appeared on Theo's face.

„Really? What happened?”

„I got into a bar fight once.” ' _Or a hundred times. Who would count all those brawls? But you don't need to know that._ '

„Theo! You should be more careful! Something really bad can eventually happen.”

„Or maybe I should let people beat me up more often? You're so sweet when you worry about me like that.” he stated with a grin.

„Theodore David Hutchcraft, I am serious.”

„Oh, all right Mr. Responsible.” he rolled his eyes. „I will be a good boy from now on. Now order some food for yourself.”

„No, I'm not that hun-”

„Don't be ridiculous Anderson. Order the food or go to the fridge and eat what's there. You will not be starving just because I have to skip the meal.”

„But-”

„Now. Or I'll get up, bring it myself and feed you.” the bruised man said in a strict voice, but did not manage to keep the amusement away from his eyes.

„Fine.” Adam agreed finally, pouting his lips but going to the kitchen.

            Few minutes later he came back with his re-heated dinner and a glass of water for Theo.

„You need anything else?” he asked, still worrying.

„Yes, a healing kiss.” he said puckering his mouth up.

„Oh for god's sake, you're acting like a five-year-old.” he said with irritation, but a smile wandered on his lips and he bend over to give Theo what he wanted.

            Adam's kiss was very sweet but gentle, so Theo tried to deepen it, grabbing him and pulling closer. That turned out not to be the best idea, as the blood that rushed through his body caused him to inhale sharply with pain and a quiet „ow” escaped his mouth.

„Stop impairing the state you're already in, or I'll carry you to your bed and tie up, so you can't move.” threatened Adam, moving away.

„I wouldn't actually mind that in certain circumstances.” Theo answered with a lecherous smile.

„You are unbelievable.” Adam gazed at him, shaking his head.

„And that's why you love me.”

„I love you because of everything.” he said as he gave Theo a small kiss on the forehead. For a very short moment his expression was somewhat serious and it made Theo frown, but it disappeared almost right away as Adam looked back at his food, and Theo was not entirely sure what he saw. „How about we move to the bed anyway? You will be more comfortable there and we can watch a movie.” offered Adam with a thought of a soft bed and a tv bigger than the one in the living room.

„Sure.” They both stood up and started walking, Adam watching Theo and ready to catch him any moment.

„You're not taking your dinner?” Theo asked, cocking his left eyebrow.

„I'm taking you first.”

„I can walk, it's really not that big of a deal, Adam.”

„That doesn't make me worry any less, you obviously have a tendency for neglecting your health.”

            When Theo was safely situated on the bed, Adam went back to the living room to switch off the light and take his food and Theo's water. When he re-entered the bedroom the movie was already starting.

„What did you choose?” the blue-eyed man asked, sitting on the bed and starting to eat.

„Casino Royale.”

„Seriously? That's what you're in a mood for after getting beaten up?”

„Definitely.” A grin appeared on Theo's face again and made Adam shake his head in amusement.

            When Adam finished eating, Theo moved closer to him and laid his head on his chest, their fingers interlaced. They watched the film, talking now and then. When the credits appeared on the screen, Anderson started getting up and said „Bedtime.”

„You're not staying?” disappointment in Theo's voice was almost tangible.

„Well, I'm not leaving you here alone, but I'll sleep on the couch.”

„What? Why?”

„You know why, I'll cuddle and hurt you.” he said, pointing at Theo's bruise.

„That is ridiculous, get back here.” Theo tapped the bed beside him, looking at Adam with anticipation.

„No, I'm taking the couch tonight.”

„You do realize that I'll just crawl back to that couch, don't you? I'm sleeping with you one way or another.”

„Oh, don't be a baby.”

„I'm not a baby, you're treating me like one.” he said, pouting his lips in a very baby-like expression.

„Oh, all right, _fine_. I'll stay here, but you have to promise to wake me up the moment I start squeezing you.”

“Of course I will.” Theo said with no intention to do so, happy to see Adam quickly change into a pair of pj’s he kept at the apartment and go back to bed.

            Adam placed himself on the left side of the bed, kissing Theo goodnight and grabbing only his arm to hold. Theo was not entirely pleased with that, as he wanted to press every inch of his body to Adam as usual, but maybe he was right – Theo should be careful, at least tonight. They both fell asleep only few minutes later.

***

            A throbbing pain in his side woke Theo up. Without moving, he estimated his situation – Adam was wrapped around him, as always. No matter what position they have fallen asleep in, he was the one being spooned, hugged and held in the morning. Adam was a natural cuddler.

„Adam?” Theo tried to wake him up gently. „Adam, darling, you have to move.” A long, sleepy groan left Adam's mouth as he started opening his eyes. He looked at Theo and his whole body went stiff.

„Oh my god, Theo, I'm so sorry! I told you, I should have slept on the couch.” He moved away quickly but gingerly, letting Theo turn onto his back with a small huff.

„How are you feeling?” a worried look again on his face.

„I'll live.”

„I surely hope so. But in general?”

„I'm all right, it doesn't hurt when I'm not moving too fast. Quit worrying, I'm not made of glass, you know. Come back here.” he patted the sheet beside him and watched Adam carefully sit back on the bed.

 “I hate it when you’re hurt.” Adam confessed with a pout and then his lips brushed a gentle kiss on Theo’s temple, arms surrounding his lover.

“Yeah, me too.” Theo chuckled and reciprocated the kiss, making himself more comfortable in his boyfriend’s embrace for at least a short snooze.

„I have to go to the bathroom.” Theo announced in a complaining voice few moments later. Adam chuckled at that and responded: „Thanks for the update.”

            Hutchcraft groaned, buried his face in the crook of Adam's shoulder and continued his complaining: „But I'm so comfortable here, lying in the arms of the most handsome man on the planet. I don't want to move.”

„Aww, aren't you the sweetest? Now I don't want to let you move.” Adam said as he tightened the grip and placed a soft kiss on the top of Theo's head.

„But I really do have to go to the bathroom.” Theo said and lifted himself up with a sigh. He gave Adam a soft peck on the lips and left the room.

            As he exited the bathroom, the sight waiting for him in the living room – Adam standing in front of the poster on the wall and studying it closely – made his heart jump in his chest. Partially, because his lover was only wearing loose pants and Theo had an undisturbed view of that magnificent body – pale skin, strong muscles and perfectly round arse. But Theo was also concerned because behind the framed cover of Depeche Mode’s ‘Violator’, less than a meter away from him, was _the safe_. Safe of a hitman - full of guns, all kinds of weapons, fake IDs and cash. Theo was anxious at the mere thought of his Adam being so close to this other, dangerous life.

„I love that cover.” stated Adam as he felt Theo coming closer and circling his arms around him.

“Why?”

“The rose is… Simple and actually kind of cliché, but still so beautiful. For me it is not a statement of any kind, it doesn’t say _anything_ about the album. Red roses are good for any occasion, aren’t they? Love, attachment, friendship, grief, threat, signature, apology, gratitude - it’s open for interpretation. And so is music. It’s like Dave Grohl said: ‘You can sing a song to 85,000 people and they'll sing it back for 85,000 different reasons.’ So I think that the red rose means the album will be what you want it to be. Or what you _need_ to hear, even if you don’t necessarily want to.”

“That was... so _amazing_. I don’t even... know how to respond to that.” stuttered Theo while blinking at Adam owlishly because the words of his interpretation reached Hutchcraft’s deepest feelings. The reaction made Anderson chuckle and blush lightly.

“Yeah… Now that I think about this - it’s not just about ‘Violator’ anymore. It’s like my understanding of music in general. The same song can make me cry like a baby or laugh maniacally, depending on the mood I’m in while listening. And red roses are like music - it’s all about circumstances and perception.”

            Theo kept staring at his boyfriend in wonder, not able to articulate any thought that would be equally poetic and brilliant. After few moments he kissed Adam feverishly and all he could say was: “I love you.”

***

            When the constant throbbing, resonating pain in his side quieted down few days later, Theo decided to pay a visit to the man that was the reason of it in the first place - all the information he needed about Fuller was provided to him by Doza and his own research. After Adam left his apartment in the evening, Hutchcraft  went out into the night as well, taking a cab to Fuller’s mansion.

            He effortlessly picked the lock and entered the building. Obvious wealth of the owner was visible at the very first look: tasteless expensive carpets, luxury-but-mismatched antiques, famous paintings hanging on the walls. Theo's resentfulness for that pathetic man grew even more for wasting such fine pieces of art.

            He crossed the hall, went through the living room furnished with an equal lack of style, and then entered the room that was undoubtedly Fuller's office. Hutchcraft eyed the whole room, briefly looked out through the window to notice neatly trimmed grass, stylized trees and bushes and an out-of-place, absurdly gold fountain. For a moment he considered sitting behind the great, mahogany desk, but eventually decided to situate himself in a surprisingly comfortable armchair in the corner. After about fifteen minutes of waiting, he heard the engine of a ridiculously expensive car parking on the driveway, keys opening the front door and then, heavy steps approaching the door of the room he was occupying.

„I don't like being followed.” Theo said, his voice quiet but excellently audible in the room, when the businessman reached his desk. Fuller abruptly turned around, his eyes landing on the dark silhouette standing up from the armchair. He lit the lights and anger immediately appeared in his eyes.

„What did you do to my employee? Where is he?”

„Oh, it depends on what you believe in, I guess. I'm personally not a fan of any kind of 'higher power', so I wouldn't say hell or heaven. But whatever suits you.”

„You piece of sh..” he didn't get the chance to finish the sentence before Theo's hand was wrapped around his throat, cutting his air supply off.

„Behave or you will join him.” Theo said, maintaining the quiet, dead-serious tone of his voice. He always thought this way to be more effective in scaring people like Fuller. Calm, imminent approach was never expected, therefore even more confusing than actual physical brutality and threats yelled out loud.

            The businessman's eyes widened in fear and he nodded in consent as his face was turning disturbingly red. Theo let go of him and took a step back, continuing his speech with hands folded behind his back.

„As I was saying – I don't like being followed. I also don't like rude people. I am a little bit old-fashioned that way, you see. I believe in the image of an english gentleman, love the whole idea of it. The suit, the manners, courtesy and modest intelligence – the best qualities you can find in a man. And unfortunately none of them were to be found in your friend.”

„That's not the reason-”

„ _Do not_ interrupt me.” obvious warning implied, Fuller resigned from any form of giving the impression of not being intimidated and scared.

„I am in a good mood today, so I've decided to visit you personally and shortly explain my methods. I considered my reputation to be enough for everybody submitting names for me to know what to expect, but apparently that was a little bit vain of me. Anyway… You've sent me a request to kill a person who is a problem for you. I, however, decided not to kill him, because I do not consider him a threat. I might be a hitman, but I still have my rules and choose the targets according to a certain pattern. I don't just go and kill anybody for fun and money, they have to deserve it. Knowing that, you should come to a conclusion that killing your employee was never my intention. He attacked _me_. I don't question the way you handle your business and I expect you not to criticize my work. Now, let me give you a basic lesson, that you seem to have been missing for many years: in order for you to do business with anyone, the other side has to actually _agree_ to cooperation. If that person does not express a clear wish, you cannot push your way into their work. Is that clear?”

„Yes.” Fuller had an angry expression on his face, but did not dare to comment on anything more.

„If you would want to consult me in the future, I highly advise not to.”

„Is that a threat?” the businessman asked with clear annoyance mixed with shock. Cliché 'don't you know who I am?' was just hanging in the air.

„Yes, I'm glad we understand each other.” responded Theo with a polite smile, amused by the man's desperate attempt to take the lead of the conversation again. Not waiting for a reply, he continued:„However, I do realize that there are people who simply _have to_ be eliminated, so if you ever cross paths with someone of that kind, try and approach me with help of a mediator, preferably of a higher importance than yourself, to make up for your lack of any conferring skills.”

            Not saying anything more, he turned his back and walked to the door. With his hand already on the handle he added: „And a friendly advice, even though you don't deserve one... For the sake of your own business, you should choose your employees more carefully. Idiots like the one I've met are a poor investment, if they'll just keep dying.”

            Hutchcraft exited the room and then the house without as much as a look back. ‘ _Pretentious prat._ ’ started the course of his thoughts as he walked along the driveway leading to the gate of Fuller’s mansion. ‘ _I’m gonna have to ask Jared to filter submitted contracts before he hands them to me. Honestly, who sends such an incompetent employee after a hitman? Didn’t your mother teach you not to poke a bear with a stick? Ugh, idiot. What if Adam would have found out because of all that situation? Well, but he didn’t. Adam.’_ one innocent stumble of Adam in his thinking and everything else was immediately forgotten. _‘Oh, Adam. I’ll call him. No, no I won’t, it’s late. I’m gonna call him in the morning. No, not morning. Don’t want to be pushy. But morning is, like, 9 o’clock, right? Something around 10:30 would be totally normal…’_

            Theo was not able to stop himself from contacting Adam as frequently as possible without seeming to be creepy, so - even though he gave up on calling him so late at night - after a moment of consideration he sent a text. A short, presumably careless ‘goodnight xx’ was immediately answered with ‘goodnight to u too xxx’ and made Theo’s stomach flutter. With a wide grin and a light head, he continued walking towards the metro station. ‘ _What that man does to me..._ ’

***

“Hi babe.” Adam heard Theo’s sweet voice on the other side of the line. “What are you doing tonight?” His tone obviously indicated he wanted to spend the time together.

“Why? You wanna meet?” Adam asked already knowing the answer, but still wanting to hear his boyfriend say it.

“Always.” Hutchcraft assured and his smile was possible to distinguish even over the phone.

“Well, I’d love to but I’ve actually promised James that I’d meet him at eight.”

“Oh.” The definite drop in his good mood was clearly audible and Adam quickly added: “But I could come over to your place now. We’d spend the day together and I’ll go meet James in the evening.”

“Yeah, sure!” Anderson could hear him grinning again and it made him smile as well.

“See you in about thirty minutes then?”

“Can’t wait.” The connection broke and Adam rushed out of the shop he was currently in, to get to Theo’s apartment. Theo, on the other hand, jumped up from the couch and started cleaning the room quickly.

            Less than half an hour later there was a sound of the doorbell and the dark-eyed man opened the door almost immediately.

“Hi.” he said a little bit breathlessly, like every time when his eyes landed on his gorgeous boyfriend after not seeing him for more than few hours. Even though every inch of his body was carved into Theo’s mind, his imagination did not give justice to his looks, so every time he saw Adam again, he was astonished by his beauty.

“Hi.” came the response and Anderson crossed the doorstep to wrap his arms around the other man’s torso. A gentle hello-kiss quickly escalated into a fully-invested, open-mouthed snog. The door was slammed loudly as both their tongues were invading each other’s mouths, Theo’s hands grabbing Adam’s neck and arse, Adam’s sliding down Theo’s back.

“Missed you.” murmured Adam as they broke apart to catch a breath.

“I can see that.” Theo teased him but not a second later added: “Missed you too.” He gave Adam a small peck on the lips and turned around with a wave of his hand to actually invite his guest further into the room.

“Want a drink?” he asked out of habit and already headed for the kitchen.

“It’s not even noon.” Adam pointed out with a chuckle.

“Er… right. Tea then?”

“Sure.”

            Hutchcraft left the room to put the kettle on and was reaching for the mugs, when he felt strong arms circling his waist. Hot breath swept over his neck and, with soft lips brushing against his ear, he heard: “So what do you wanna do today?”

“D-dunno…” Theo stuttered, distracted by the sensation of Adam’s whole body pressed against him. “Haven’t really thought about it.” he managed to say and turned around in his lovers embrace to face him. “Any ideas?”

“Might have a few.” was the answer as the blue eyes pierced the brown ones, slid down to the lips and then went back up to lock the gaze once again.

“Unf, you are infuriatingly sexy, you know that?” whined the taller man as he felt his trousers become too tight. He pressed his crotch against Adam’s, only to feel him being equally hard.

“Bedroom.” came the only word from the shorter man, before he took possession of Theo’s mouth again. They moved out of the kitchen and through the living room, tripping over each other’s legs and bumping onto the edge of the coffee table, but it went ignored. They have both started clumsily unbuttoning their shirts and trousers and by the time they reached the bed, all the clothes were scattered on the floor messily.

With his eyes adjusting to the half-darkness caused by closed curtains, Theo found himself standing with the backs of his knees and calves touching the duvet. He felt a little push from Adam and landed on the materace with the delightful weight of the other man’s body following and pressing him down. Adam’s heavy erection thumped onto Theo’s bare belly and he noticed a small rocking of his hips, as heated fingers slid against his chest.

“What are you-” Theo started asking but was not sure what exactly he wanted to say. It didn’t matter though, as Adam lifted his head, gave Theo a very predatory look and in an impossibly low voice said: “I want to fuck you.”

            Theo’s jaw dropped at that statement. When he was considering that particular moment before, he always imagined it would be the other way around - him fucking Adam. But now he felt like all the blood in his whole body travelled down to his groin and having Adam inside himself was the only thing he wanted. So he gave him another passionate kiss and moved underneath him to reach the drawer by the side of the bed. Opened it, took out a small tube of lube and handed it to his lover.

            Adam maneuvered his hand quickly and the small _crack_ of the package being open echoed through the room. Their eyes met again as Theo felt cold, slippery fingers between his arse cheeks. He moved his legs further apart to offer a better access and focused on Adam’s lips and teeth travelling alongside his neck and then clavicle. Distracted by those meticulous movements, he missed the moment in which Adam decided to slip one finger into him. Only a small gasp of surprise escaped him, but the muscles of his rectum clenched anyway.

“You okay?” asked Adam, his voice hoarse from arousal but sounding a little bit worried.

“Y-yes, keep going.” demanded Theo ignoring the discomfort and forcing his muscles to relax. As the first impression of being invaded passed, his brain acknowledged the pleasure.

            The long finger started moving slowly, Adam pressed in until the last knuckle. Continued kisses moved down Theo’s body, teeth clenching delicately on his nipple and making him moan because of the joint sensation up there and the feeling of a second finger being pushed in. He welcomed the scissoring movement of Adam’s digits and couldn’t resist rocking his hips along with it. The guitarist’s lips reached the bottom of his belly, ghosted over it for a few seconds and closed around his penis. The humidity of his mouth felt incredible - dexterous tongue flipping around, a delicate hollowing of cheeks. At the very moment the third finger joint the other two, it brushed against the prostate. Hutchcraft felt his lower stomach’s muscles contract and hips moving way up.

“Aah, Adam! Oh, stop it or I’ll-” The hotness of Adam’s lips momentarily disappeared, fingers backed away slightly and his free hand firmly squeezed the base of his cock to dismiss the closeness of his orgasm.

“No, you won’t.” he stated in a commanding voice and the blue eyes were right above Theo’s face again. He planted a gentle kiss on his lips and waited a moment. “Okay?” he asked and after noticing Theo’s nod, resumed moving his fingers.

“Oh, I love it when you’re so bossy.” Hutchcraft stated when he was able to take a sufficient amount of air to compound a whole sentence. The confession earned him a heated, sly smile from Adam.

            One of Theo’s hands grabbed a handful of the sheet beneath him and was crumpling it, while the other one found Adam’s arm and was holding it in a way that was definitely going to be a hand-shaped bruise tomorrow. He suddenly felt a more invasive wriggle of Adam’s fingers and then almost articulated a sob at the cold emptiness caused by his retreat. The uncapping of the lube was heard again and, as Theo lifted his head, he saw Adam gripping his own erection and slicking it. Only a moment later he was hovering above his lover and lowered his hips to touch his opening with the tip of his penis. A hint of hesitation was visible in the blue eyes and seeing that, Theo’s right hand gently cupped Adam’s cheek and then he pushed his lower body up towards him and murmured: “Do it.”

            The first breach of the ring of his muscles was followed by a sting and Theo hissed quietly. Adam stilled immediately and waited for permission to move again, his eyes carefully observing Theo’s face. A moment later, when Hutchcraft got used to the stretch, he encouraged his lover with a small squeeze on his arse. Slow, delicate movements of Adam’s hips accompanied with sweet kisses and murmured love declarations felt like absolute heaven. Theo found himself overwhelmed with pleasure, his long legs wrapping around Adam’s waist, quiet moans uncontrollably escaping his mouth.

            Adam’s hand was travelling along Theo’s body, brushing against his neck and moving down his chest and stomach to finally grab the leaking, hot cock. Long, lazy strokes were aligned with his thrusts and a gentle shifting of his hips caused a long groan, indicating he managed to hit Theo’s prostate. Keeping the position, he continued fiery kisses and hazily noticed the simultaneous contractions in both their bodies. Few more moments of unspeakable closeness and bliss lead them to climaxing. They came together, lost in the magnitude of stimulus, feeling each other closer than ever and ravishing the mutual devotion. The level of intimacy and exposure between them was terrifying and glorious at the same time, bare senses and thoughts displayed in trust and love.

            Adam dropped onto his stomach, half-sprawled over Theo and nuzzled his neck, possessively placing his left arm over Theo’s upper body, while their panting was the only sound in the dark room.

“I love you.” whispered Theo when his breathing calmed down and his fingers were gently stroking Adam’s back as they lay in the post-orgasm glow.

“I love you too.” was the response and Adam closed his eyes with a feeling of being the happiest man on the planet.

***

            Adam had to get to the bar that was situated on Cheetam Hill Road and originally he was supposed to take a cab, but after giving it some thought, he decided to walk instead. The evening was very pleasant and there was no need to hurry anyway - James was _always_ late.

            He took the right direction and his mind travelled towards the day he had spent with Theo. ‘ _It was so perfect, I could just spend the rest of my life like that. With him. Oh god, this is too serious, we know each other for such a short time. But what a perfect time… I love him. And I feel_ so _sure of it. I should talk to him about it. No, no, why the serious talk, there is no rush. Oh, he’s so gorgeous…_ ’ His thoughts were going messy, like every time Theo occupied his brain.

            Focusing on his happiness, he didn’t notice the black, expensive car parked at the end of the alley, nor the two men that had left it a moment earlier and started walking in his direction. Before he knew it, it was too late and he accidentally bumped into one of them.

“Oh, sorry, I wasn’t look-” his apologies were interrupted by a big palm covering his mouth. “Wat th ffu-” he was only able to articulate before he felt strong arms wrapping around him, immobilizing. He started struggling with them right away, trying to push away, kick or at least catch a proper breath.

“Stop it, you won’t win anyway.” Adam heard a cold voice, somehow still sounding amused, and realized he was being dragged towards the car.

“No! Let me out!” he yelled the moment he was shoved unceremoniously into the spacious trunk, but before he managed to get out of it, he felt the hard metal hit his head hardly as it went shut.

            He heard the starting of the engine and felt the car moving. Kicking and screaming did not help him in any way, so he decided to give up on it in favour of listening closely to any characteristic noises outside of the car. With some effort he managed to turn over onto his back and reach to his pocket, but only to find that his phone was not there - one of his captors must have taken it while he was struggling.

            He briefly thought of Theo getting mugged not a long time ago and himself apparently being kidnapped. ‘ _We're collecting all the bad luck of Manchester._ ’

            The ride was not long, but for Anderson it felt like at least an hour because of the discomfort of being jammed in a fairly claustrophobic, limited space and a serious bump already forming on his forehead. When the trunk opened, he immediately started fighting again, trying to push his kidnappers away. Unfortunately, he had no chance with two tall, heavily-built men. He was taken out of the car and half-carried-half-dragged to the big house they were in front of. The men led him through a very expensively furnished hall and kitchen, only to unceremoniously throw him into a dark room that Adam identified as some kind of a cellar.

            Anderson pounded on the door and yelled, but to no avail. After few moments he turned around to examine the room he was in. His eyes got used to the half-darkness and he was able to distinguish rows of shelves, all filled with countless bottles of varied alcohols. The window at the end of the cellar was definitely too small to crawl out through but he run towards it nevertheless, possibly to try and open it, and start throwing the bottles out - the sounds of shattered glass were bound to draw _someone’s_ attention. But before he made the distance to the window, the door opened and two familiar men entered the room, followed by a well-dressed, lanky figure.

“Welcome to my mansion, Mr. Anderson.” he said in a ridiculously cheerful voice. “Smile!” he ordered and Adam noticed his own phone in the man’s hand, snapping a photo. A quick tapping of his fingers on the touch screen was followed by a sound of a sent message. “You don’t mind, do you? Just wanted to send a little invitation to your boyfriend. I’m sure he will be here soon.”

“Who are you? What do you want?” Adam asked and took a step back as the three men started walking towards him - the one who spoke one step in front of the two others.

“I just told you. I want your boyfriend to come with a visit.” he answered with a hint of irritation in his voice.

            The guitarist’s back hit the wall and he had nowhere to run, as there were tall, solid shelves on both of his sides. Without any thinking, the decision was made and he threw himself at the thin man in front of him. The move was unexpected and he succeeded in reaching his jaw with a firm fist, but any further action was impossible. Once again he was not able to move, captured in a steely grip of the two other men.

“That was incredibly stupid.” cold words were the response to Adam’s attack and the man in charge shortly nodded at one of his bodyguards.

            There was a quick movement behind Adam’s back and seconds later he saw a flash of a syringe followed by a sharp sting of a needle in his neck.

“NO!” he managed to scream and struggled against the adamant grip on his body, before his muscles started feeling wobbly - the stinging fluid quickly travelling through his veins. He was thrown against the wall and slid onto the concrete floor as his vision went blurry, eyelids suddenly impossibly heavy. Before he has lost all his coherence he heard a small chime of his phone, informing of a new message. ‘ _Theo._ ’ was his last thought.

***

            Theo was lying on his bed, half-focused on the movie that he was supposed to be watching, and thought about Adam, already missing him even though he had left the apartment less than ninety minutes earlier. He was just about to get up and make himself a cup of tea when his phone vibrated with a new message. He rolled over the bed to reach it from the bedside table with a thought ‘ _you already miss me too, babe?_ ’, sure that the text could not have been from anyone else. And just as he anticipated, ‘the love of my life’ - a name associated with Adam’s number, typed in by the man himself after a few drinks and a very good shag some time ago - came up on the screen. Hutchcraft’s lips curled in a smile at the thought of that particular evening and he opened the message.

            The world stopped. Breathing was suddenly a distant concept. The only thing that existed was a picture of Adam: defensive posture, fists clenched tightly, face serious but with eyes wide from fear; a wall behind his back, small window at the level of his head that was marked with a bloody bruise. The text attached to the picture said: ‘kill the politician like I told you to, and I’ll give you your boy toy back.’

            The time stretched impossibly, seconds felt like long minutes and Theo’s thoughts were racing. Immediate plan cleared out in his head and his initial numbness disappeared, taken over by clarity and steadiness. ‘ _Save Adam._ ’

            He started hitting the screen of his phone furiously, transferring the picture onto his laptop and dialing Jared’s number. He stared at the magnified image and studied it for any detail that might help him locate Adam. When he heard the third beep of the signal on his phone, his eyes rested at the window that was photographed along with his boyfriend. A small, characteristically gold fountain that Theo had definitely seen before was visible even on the picture taken by a phone camera. ‘ _He’s at Fuller’s house._ ’ relief hit him along with the realization the he knew exactly where to find Adam and save him.

“Wallis.” Theo heard on the other side of the line as Jared finally answered the phone.

“I need a car. _Now_. I’m at home.”

            Multiple cars that belonged to Doza were always set up around Manchester - convenient locations, discreet transmissions of keys and documents always accessible for the clients in sudden need.

“The one you usually use is available.”

“Good.”

“Is there someth-” the hitman disconnected the call, not waiting for his friend to finish the sentence. He was already collecting a gun and few smaller knives from his safe, grabbing his jacket and leaving the apartment to run two streets away to get to the car as fast as possible.

            It was almost an hour since Fuller’s text, before Theo managed to get to his house. The darkness of the night helped him hide from the security’s eyes and he succeeded in sneaking into the building without any major trouble. He'd instantly directed his steps further into the house, remembering its display, and found the cellar right away. The door was obviously locked, so he quickly took the picklock out of his pocket and quietly opened it.

            Once inside the dark room, he went straight ahead to reach the window he knew was there. “Adam?” he asked in a whisper but there was no response. Few steps further and his world stopped for the second time that evening. Adam was laying on the floor, not moving, ‘ _dead?_ ’ was Theo’s immediate thought. But no. When he approached the motionless body, he noticed the slight movement of his chest, pumping the air in and out.

            Hutchcraft passed the remaining few steps that separated him from Adam and touched his face gently to try and wake him up, but the only reaction was a low groan followed by a reluctant turn of his head, away from the warm fingers.

“Adam please, please, wake up. Come on, open your eyes, please.” Theo begged and miraculously - Adam did as he was told. His eyes opened and widened as he said with dread in his hushed voice “Theoo _run_... Tss TRAP!” his words were not entirely coherent, but the hitman heard enough to understand.

            Because of him, sweet-good-Adam got kidnapped, hurt and drugged and when he woke up his only thought was to protect the very person responsible for all that. A wave of tenderness and guilt hit him and all he could think about was getting the love of his life out of the dark, cold cellar and making sure he’s safe for the rest of eternity.

            Before he had a chance to pick Adam up and walk out of the house, the door got opened and the lights were switched on. The hitman slowly straightened up and turned around to face the five men that entered the room - Fuller and four of his bodyguards. Hutchcraft’s stance immediately got defensive, he gently bucked his knees and balled his fists - ready to jump and attack, to protect Adam. 

„You don't seem to be surprised by my presence.” Theo spoke first as the businessman simply stopped and watched him. Fuller actually looked very pleased to see Theo and it made him worry, something was wrong there.

„What is this? Some kind of a pathetic power play? Because I can obviously see it's not about the politician. Give me one good reason and I’ll let you go out of here alive.” Despite his obvious disadvantage in numbers, Theo knew he was able to take down five men.

„You gave me that beautiful lecture about your ridiculous rules and now you come here with an intention of killing me? Not really going by the book, even if you were the one to write it? Oh, but well, never mind that. The politician’s yesterday's news.” Fuller said with a negligent wave of his hand, not acknowledging Hutchcraft’s threat. „Today I am interested in _you_.”

„What?” asked Theo in confusion.

„You see, that employee of mine, the one that you've killed, was actually a great friend. His death was very personal for me, so naturally, I had to seek vengeance. And, miraculously, at that very moment Mr. Anderson came up, giving me the best of opportunities.”

            Realization appeared on Theo's face while he was listening. It was all a trap and he walked right into it, dragging Adam with himself. ‘ _And he is listening to Fuller’s every word._ ’ he thought and did not dare to look into his lover’s face. He knew exactly what he would see there and he was not ready for it, he had to _focus_.

„Do you see the greatness of my plan yet? You looked so happy together, I mean it. It was beautiful, those long walks around the park, dates at the restaurants. It even made me a little bit jealous, I must admit.” Plain mockery in Fuller's voice made Theo even more furious. They have apparently been followed all the time and he didn't even notice. He was so focused on Adam that he let his guards go down. “The picture was an invitation, I knew you were gonna recognize my back yard and come here.”

“Although he _is_ quite adorable.” Fuller continued with a dreamy expression on his face, eyes fixed on Adam. “Maybe I should keep him.” A wicked glare traveled back to Theo.

“Don’t you _dare_ to even _think_ about him.” hissed Hutchcraft.

“Oh, someone’s possessive.” Fuller’s voice did not lose its disdain. “You make quite a dynamic duo. You being 'the great hitman' and him… He put up quite a fight when he got here, he’s such a-” he stopped speaking for a moment, as if in search for an adequate word “ _tiger_.” he finished contently, eyes set back on Adam. “But look at him now, a sleepy little kitten.”

“What did you do to him?” asked Theo, not able to stand the not-knowing any longer.

“Some sedatives. Got a new delivery yesterday, I’m not even sure how they work yet. Lovely presentation on your boy toy.”

            Theo was just about to ask Fuller what the _hell_ is he trying to achieve by this situation, but at that very moment he heard a gentle sound of scraping and looked back to see Adam clumsily trying to move. Completely defenseless, not even able to stand up. ‘ _No. No fucking negotiations. Fuller’s dead._ ’ Theo suddenly felt like his mind was split into two: half of his consciousness was focused on Adam, the need of protecting him. The other half was pure rage. Not a shred of mercy or consideration of who the people behind him might be, the only command in his head was to _kill_.

            The hitman slowly turned back around and used the distraction of a motion to take a knife out of his pocket - moderately broad blade with a jagged edge and a total length of about six inches. Before any of the bodyguards had noticed it and managed to react, he threw the knife right at Fuller, perfectly in the middle of his stomach. The businessman screamed in pain and fell onto the floor. One of the four men by his side immediately leaned over him to help, while the other three attacked Theo.

            He was suddenly being grabbed by his arms, feeling the broad, strong bodies on both of his sides. Not waiting for the blow that was already coming towards him from the remaining guard, Hutchcraft used the grip of his upper body as leverage and lifted both legs to kick him in the chest with all the force - the man fell back, hitting the shelf hardly and slumping down as multiple bottles fell onto his head and then smashed beside him.

            The shift of Theo’s weight surprised the men holding him and one of them let go completely, while the other grabbed more firmly. However, the strength of one was not enough to hold him and they both fell down. Theo felt all the air escaping him as his chest hit the ground and his knee got badly chafed. Nevertheless, he was able to grab a fistful of short hair and smashed the guard’s head onto the floor. A rather loud _thump_ was heard in the room and the blood quickly started leaking from underneath the spot where the skull had met the concrete.

            The moment that the hitman spent on decreasing the amount of his opponents had cost him a painful kick into the ribs and he felt a wide palm grasping the collar of his jacket. The guard that managed to stay on his feet after Theo’s manoeuvre, was now lifting him up and aiming a fist towards his face. He miraculously succeeded in blocking the blow by catching the fist into his hand, squeezing it as hard as possible and simultaneously distorting. When the cry of pain filled the room, Hutchcraft saw at the corner of his vision that the fourth bodyguard was trying to lift Fuller up and take him outside. ‘ _That’s not going to happen._ ’ he thought and pulled out his gun. A muffled swoosh of a bullet from a silenced gun crossed the room, ending its course right in the temple of his target. He turned back to the man whose fist he was still twisting and shot him as well.

            The guard surrounded by shattered glass and liters of alcohol wasn’t moving and nothing indicated that he was about to attack either Theo or Adam, so Hutchcraft decided to ignore him, not caring if the man was alive or not.

            The whole encounter has taken not more than five minutes and four defenders of a sorry excuse of a man that was now by the door, were all defeated. With delight Theo finally turned to approach Fuller. The man was trying to crawl towards the exit, but the knife still sticking out of his stomach was obviously causing an excruciating pain. The hitman let every ounce of hatred and disgust show on his face as he took the few steps separating them and hovered over the businessman.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t-” Fuller was trying to talk, his earlier cocky calmness and threatening tone long gone and replaced with utter terror.

“Didn’t _what_? Mean to kidnap him? Drug him? Hurt him? Mess with _me_?” Hutchcraft voice was ice-cold, his dark eyes still filled with thirst for murder. “You know what happens now, don’t you?” he asked as he grabbed the hilt of the knife and viciously pulled it out. The man on the ground screamed impossibly loudly and tried to curl in on himself in a matter of an unconditioned reflex.

“Please, pl-”

“You’ve already had your time to plead. And you missed the opportunity.” With that statement Theo dragged the sharp blade along Fuller’s throat. He watched the life flee out of his eyes and the fists clenched in pain loosen, last shaky breath being interrupted forever. The best moment of every job - the feeling of power over someone’s life. Not only the one he’s taking, but also the ones that he protects. How many has he saved from being mugged, raped, murdered?

            ‘ _But this was not a job. Fuller was a mistake, my miscalculation and sloppiness._ My _fault._ ’ Theo’s jaw clenched as he continued staring at the corpse in front of him, odd sort of panic starting to flood his body. The glory of the moment was gone, the rage he felt earlier - evaporated. He’s killed so many people, but never like _that_. ‘ _This is so wrong. But I had to protect Adam. Oh god, ADAM._ ’

            Hutchcraft got up immediately and run across the room to reach Adam, who was still leaning against the wall below the window. He looked unconscious - eyes closed, limbs spread messily. ‘ _For how long? How much of that mess did he see?_ ’

            Approaching Adam required more courage than Theo have ever needed for anything. Fighting and killing was in his nature, risking his own life more times that he can count. But this? This was new. He has never had anyone to care about, to love. And then Adam came and changed the whole perception of Theo’s world. He altered everything with his smile, tender touch and bottomless eyes. And now Theo was going to lose it. Lose him. But Hutchcraft had to wake him up, get him out of that horrible house. Shaky fingers touched Adam’s face gingerly.

„Adam, love, open your eyes. Oh god, I’m so _sorry_ , look at me, please.” Theo begged, desperately needing to know that Adam was okay. His eyes opened and focused on Theo's face, pupils dilated to the point that the blue was almost invisible.

„Who arr you? A killer...” he mumbled incoherently, trying to push Theo away.

„No, I'm... We will talk about it later, now we need to get you to a hospital.”

„NO! No hoss... pital.” Adam's eyes widened with panic. “Home.” His eyelids went down again, his body giving up on the fight with the effects of the drug and exhaustion. Or maybe he remembered he didn’t actually _have_ a home.

„Okay, all right. We'll go home.” Theo assured him, having his own apartment in mind.

            Theo helped Adam up from the ground and leaned his semi-unconscious body on his side. They walked out of the house and the taller man tucked the other one into the car. Then, he quickly sat behind the wheel and drove away, trying to get to his apartment as fast as possible. He was worried about Adam, the bruise on his head looked quite serious and the drug in his system didn’t seem to even start wearing off. But despite his best efforts, it took him over thirty minutes before they got there. During that ride he picked up his phone, chose the right number and after the second beep heard the familiar voice saying „Wallis.”

„Jared. I fucked up. Five bodies at Fuller's mansion, his included. I need you to clean it all up.”

„What?! What the fuck happened?”

„He kidnapped Adam.” A moment of silence fell between them and then Jeremy's voice was heard again: „I'm on it.”

„Thank you. And the other four bodies – I need their papers. Everything you can find.”

„You didn't know them?” Jared already knew the answer to that - if Theo asked for the files of someone he'd killed, it meant he had no idea who they were. It happened only once before - some random person was a collateral damage and Hutchcraft insisted on finding out everything possible, to find a justification. And that last person turned out to be quite a villain, so Theo forgave himself. But what if he would have killed someone innocent? It would torment him for the rest of his life.

„No. I need the files.”

„Don't do that to yourself Theo.” Jared sounded worried.

„I want the files. I _need_ them.”

„All right, I'll see what I can do.” he agreed with a deep sigh.

„Thank you once again. I'll call you tomorrow.” Theo ended the call and took a glance at Adam. His eyes were closed but he looked tensed. Not sleeping then.

„How are you feeling?” Theo asked quietly.

            Silence. That dead silence coming from Adam, resonating through Theo's bones and making his heart freeze. ' _He knows. And he hates me._ '

„I can imagine what you're thinking about me right now, but I need to know you are all right. Otherwise, I'm taking you to the hospital.”

„'m fine.” his voice was very quiet and weak, but it was enough for Theo. He kept driving, giving up on the hospital after all.

            By the time they parked outside of the building, Adam's breaths were deep and steady – he was obviously sleeping. Theo lifted him, carried up the stairs and situated on the floor to open the door. After he managed to place him on the bed, he gingerly took his shirt and trousers off, and with a relief noticed that there was no more bruising on his body. He left the bedroom to lock the front door and hid the key in his pocket. He had no idea what the confrontation in the morning will look like, so it was just a precaution. When he re-entered the bedroom, he saw Adam already curled up around the pillow, clutching it like it was a lifebelt. ' _Well, this is a good sign. He's drugged, but still cuddling in his sleep, so it can't be anything serious. He'll be all right in the morning. He has to be. He will._ '

            After a moment of thought, Theo decided to move the armchair in front of the bed to have a good view at sleeping Adam. Lying with him might be a little bit risky, right after everything what happened. He might not want Theo so close. Or at all. ' _Will he leave? Will he turn me in?_ ' The gloomy thoughts started coming to his head, all the possible scenarios of Adam's rejection already forming. ' _Ugh, no. Don't think that. Enjoy the opportunity to look at him. While you still can._ '

            He watched Adam's chest moving up and down. He did not plan to sleep that night, but guard Adam and make sure everything is okay with him. Unfortunately, as the stress of the fight and fear for guitarist's safety drained him, he dozed off about an hour later.

***

            Adam woke up, feeling the sleep slowly going away, replaced by a terrible headache. He felt confused, not sure where he was. The wonderful, characteristic smell of Theo all around him indicated that he's lying in his bed, so he opened his eyes, but then closed them right back when the bright sun made his head hurt even more than it already did. But the less-than-a-second-long glimpse at the room made him remember the previous night. ' _Theo. Oh my god, Theo. He's a murderer._ '

            Adam's body went numb, he opened his eyes once again and cautiously looked around the room without moving a muscle. He noticed Theo, sprawled over the armchair facing the bed, looking very much asleep. The blue-eyed man very gently moved the duvet away and, trying not to make a sound, quickly picked up his clothes - ‘ _thank you very much for undressing me’_ he thought sarcastically - and left the room. He got dressed in the quickest way possible and was already by the front door, when he heard movement behind his back and Theo spoke.

„Trying to sneak away?” There was no anger or threat in his voice, which surprised Adam. He expected him to be... well, scary. Maybe even trying to kill him as well. ‘ _He saved your fucking life yesterday, why would he kill you now?_ ’ - an unwanted thought crossed his mind, but he dismissed it for later consideration. This situation was ridiculous. A minute ago, when Adam saw Theo sleeping, his only thought was to run away as far as possible. Now, when he looked into his beautiful sad eyes, he just wanted to hug him and make sure he’s okay after all that beating up he got last night. But that was not going to happen, he shook his head gently and grabbed the door knob. The door was locked, but not with a deadbolt, which meant that he needed the key to unlock it. And it was not in the keyhole. He slowly turned around and looked at Theo again.

„Let me out.” hearing that, Theo put his hand in the pocket of his trousers and started walking towards Adam. The shorter man took a step back - the only one he was capable of, as his back hit the door and there was nowhere to run - and his eyes widened with fear. Hutchcraft stopped abruptly at that and put his hands up as a sign of capitulation, holding the keys in the left one.

„I am not going to hurt you. Please, just let me explain.” he begged.

„I don't want to hear it, let me out of here. And don't contact me when I'm gone.”

„But-” his voice was breaking, tears showing in his eyes. Theo hated himself for that, for exposing the weakness.

„No, Theo. I need a break, time to think. I'll call you, when I'm ready.”

„Of course, anything you want.” ‘ _He will call. Adam will call me. This is not a definite goodbye, Adam will call. I will give him the key now, and he will think and then call me. Adam._ ' his thoughts were a mess, clenching onto that small spark of hope.

„Just throw me the key.” Adam said impatiently when there was no reaction from Theo. He actually just stood there absolutely motionless, and stared at him with... fear? ' _Why would he be afraid of me?_ ' He caught the key with his right hand and immediately unlocked the door. At that moment Theo broke, run towards him saying: „I am so sorry, Adam. I'm sorry! I love you.” the last sentence was whispered and it made Adam stop. He looked back and Theo could swear he saw tears in his eyes as well. And then Adam slammed the door behind himself.

*** Theo ***

            Theo was lying on his couch, staring bluntly at the telly. The whole apartment was a mess, some clothes scattered around, along with a few already empty takeout boxes. It was a week since Adam left, and it was the worst week of Theo's life. He handled first two days quite well, understanding that the blue-eyed man needed to take his time. But after that he went into a full-mode after-break-up depression, not caring about the outside world, blaming himself, almost not eating, not taking any calls, just stupidly waiting for the only one that mattered. Every song was reminding him of Adam, every book bringing back memories. ' _Those soft hands, full lips and blue, blue eyes_. _Holding him and talking and just being together._ '

            And as if losing Adam was not enough, Theo found the files of the people from Fuller's security in his mail box the previous evening – someone from Doza must have left them there as he had requested. The first two he had read indicated that the men were vicious ex-convicts, just like Theo suspected – history of violence and quite long lists of innocent people they had killed. But when Hutchcraft opened the third folder he saw a piece of paper covered with Jared's handwriting:

_'We have decided to stage a gas leak at Fuller's mansion, as you probably already know from the news. A massive explosion seemed like a neat way of covering it all up. I know a few people in the police so they’ll make sure no one will be looking into it too much._

_I tried finding any dirt on those two men, but honestly, they're just decent people with a wrong job. The good news is that one of them - Anthony Smalls - did not die. You knocked him down for the better part of this week, but we gave him a proper medical attention and now he is recovering in one of Doza's facilities. His resume is quite impressive and I have no idea how he ended up working for a scumbag like Fuller. I plan to offer him a proper job if he will be willing to cooperate._

_In a matter of the fifth man – Ronald Treylor – I couldn't have done anything more than notify his family and offer them support. I am sorry Theo, but don't torment yourself over this. People die in the most common circumstances. If that's any comfort, Mr. Smalls told me that Fuller was suspecting Treylor of some kind of disloyalty and was most likely going to kill him. He'd be dead one way or another – with or without your assistance._

_You haven't been answering any of my calls and I'm a little bit worried about you. Just let me know you're all right._

_JW_ '

            After reading the letter, Theo sent a short text to Jared, just to stop him worrying. He looked through the file of Ronald Treylor, scanning his history, and in the end just staring at the profile photo. ‘ _I ended his life. He was a good man, with a future and plans and family and I killed him. My lack of self-control caused his death. But Jared said he was bound to die anyway... Not a justification! If I had taken care of Fuller earlier, he’d still be alive. Stupid, useless piece of sh-_ ’ his litany of self-loathing was interrupted by a very loud pounding on the door.

*** Adam ***

            Adam was walking around for about three hours, taking some fresh air. God only knew how he needed that, after sitting in the apartment for a whole week. All that time, he was changing his decision every fifteen minutes. ' _I'll die without him. He'll get me killed. I'll die without him._ ' - the constant battle in his mind.

            Going back to Theo meant he accepted the fact that he was a killer and eventually, probably there will be another situation like the one at Fuller’s mansion. And he will get killed at some point. ‘ _Or he will kill me… No. He won’t. I know he won’t. He_ saved _my life. And killed five people in the process. But they were bad people, trying to kill us both. Definitely going to kill us both. But it was his fault they were trying to kill us._ ’

            Not going back to Theo meant he will be unhappy for the rest of his life, because - killer or not – he loved him, and it wasn't just a crush that he would get over with some time. ' _I need a drink._ ' he thought and entered the next bar on his way.

            He sat by the counter and ordered himself a Jack Daniel's. And another one. And the third. His mind was already fuzzy from drinking on an empty stomach. While draining the sixth – or seventh? who cares... - glass, he turned his head and his eyes were wandering around the bar. The man in the corner – ' _Theo has a jacket that looks just like his_ ', a girl dancing in the middle of the bar - ' _Theo can totally move his hips like that._ ' All that was going into the wrong direction – drinking was supposed to make him forget, not obsess even more. ' _Oh, fuck this. Fuck_.' He turned his eyes back on the wall behind the counter, and just stared at all kinds of alcohol standing there. ' _Jägermeister. Theo and I were drinking it once. It was absolutely disgusting._ '

„Can you give me that yeger-ee-somethin’?” he asked the bartender.

„Are you sure? Don't you think you've had enough for tonight?”

„Nooo, give it to me. Just give me the whole b-bottle and I'll go away.”

„Okay, your call, mate.” He passed the bottle to the drunk man and took the money for it, appreciating the big tip.

            Adam grabbed the container, uncorked it, took a big gulp and grimaced his face. He stood up and unsteadily left the bar, halting a cab right outside. Before he would change his mind, he gave Theo's address to the cabbie and impatiently sat at the back of the car.

„It's like four streets away.” the driver said surprised, but then took a look at the man and added „But you obviously need the ride. Pissed like that, you wouldn't be able to cross the street, I suppose.”

            Five minutes – and more than a half of the Jägermeister bottle - later Adam was leaning on the front door of a killer's apartment and hitting it with his fist. ' _The cave of a fucking monster. How pathetic is that? I am so stupid. But maybe he'll kiss me before he kills me? What a beautiful last memory would that be..._ ' The door opened and, as he had lost the only surface keeping him upright, he fell right into Theo's arms.

„Youuu... bastard!” he rambled drunkenly and tried to push away.

„Adam!” Theo yelled at the same time, absolutely startled. „You came- Oh my god, how drunk are you?”

„I am not drunk!” he yelled and at that very moment they both collapsed onto the floor.

„Ugh, okay, okay. You're not drunk. But let's get you to bed, shall we?” Theo asked gently, leading them both up, very concerned about the state Adam was in. ' _Why did you do that to yourself, Adam?_ '

„Oh you would loooove that, wouldn' ya?” Words were spilling out of him uncontrollably, as he grabbed the front of Theo's shirt and looked him in the eyes. „Me in your bed... Or a coffin. I hate you, Hutchcraft.” Theo's heart stopped. „I hate you, cuz I love you. _So much...._ Whyyy didn't you call me? I missed you! All those days, longe-eest seven days of my life. You know it was actually seven and a half day, now? It's like, one hundred an-and eighty hours! I've been countin'. I missed you every fuckin' second. But you didn't call. Or stalk me at all. Or come to kill me. Why haven't you killed me yet? Tell me! Haha, you should start singing now. That song, you know... 'Keep awake' by Monkeysss-whatever. ' _I will kill you in your sleep, so you'd better try, try and keep awake..._ ' ” The quiet humming was leaving his mouth as he slid slightly down in Theo’s arms.

„You've told me not to call you, remember? And I am not going to kill you. Not in your sleep or not ever.” They were already standing in the bedroom and Theo, with the highest reluctance, unclenched Adam's fists from his shirt and pushed him onto the bed, with the intention of wrapping the duvet around him and, once again, watching over him from the armchair. However, with an astonishing force for someone that drunk, Adam pulled Theo onto the bed right beside himself, and half-straddled him right away.

„That's good. Good news. Finally. Please, don't go. Stay with me. I love you. I missed you. So much. Don't go. I really. Love you.” Short sentences were leaving his mouth, becoming quieter with every word, and a couple of seconds later Adam was sound asleep, cuddling Theo. The taller man was just lying there, gingerly caressing his lover's cheek and enjoying his presence.

***

            Adam woke up because of a terrible thirst. The sun behind the window was gentle, like it was just coming up – 6:07 he saw on the clock. There was a small hum in his head, but no severe hangover, which was an absolute miracle, considering the amount of mixed kinds of alcohol he ingested the day before. Only the desperate urge for something to drink. And maybe a toothbrush. He crawled out of bed and went to the kitchen to drink three glasses of water straight. Then, he crossed the living room and entered the bathroom to brush his teeth.

            His thoughts drifted to the man on the other side of the wall. He remembered feeling Theo's warm, perfect body when he was falling asleep yesterday, how right it felt to hold him. He also recalled all the things he said - how he loved and missed him. It was all true, there was no denying that. So why would he run from it? He was so happy before he found out that Theo is a killer for hire, everything felt in place. Even his subconsciousness was drawn to Theo, when the day before his pointless walking around Manchester ended in a bar barely four streets away from the man’s apartment.

            That guy in the basement mentioned something about Theo having 'his ridiculous rules'. ' _I definitely need to find out more about that, maybe there's a reasonable explanation, something to make all that less horrible. And that phone call in the car, it sounded weird as well._ ' This kind of thoughts were hovering in his mind for the last week as he desperately needed some kind of explanation, to get the old image of his Theo back – that thought made him remember a couple of lines of a song he once heard:

 _'Demon, where did my angel go?_  
_Vacant, vapid, stupid, perfect.  
_ _You are the one.'_

            He didn't even know the name of the artist or the song itself, there were just those lines, which fitted perfectly right now. Because just a couple of days ago Theo was his angel who now turned into a demon. Suddenly gone from Adam’s life, he’s left it pathetic, dull, pointless and extremely empty. And despite all that, he still was _the one_.

            Adam went back to the bedroom and looked at him, still sleeping. With a deep sigh, he got back to bed and snuggled Theo once more. He surprised Adam by moving in his sleep, embracing him and spooning tightly for a change. Anderson enjoyed that for a moment, but then felt the other body go stiff and the pleasant warmth disappeared. He turned around and saw Theo jumping out of bed and murmuring „'m sorry, sorry, didn't mean to.” The guilty look on his face reassured Adam, that he was telling the truth - no one can act like that just woken up. That simple reaction made him realize that everything Theo had said he felt for him was true. ' _He did lead a double life and conveniently had forgotten to tell me about that, but all the feelings were real. He really cares._ '

„I'm staying.” came out of Adam's mouth, not taking the time to come up with something more reasonable.

„What?” Theo said bluntly, his eyes expressing utter confusion, not daring to believe that Adam was saying what he had hoped to hear.

            Adam sighed deeply and looked at Theo. ‘ _I might as well say it._ ’

“I once told you that I love you because of everything.” Theo opened his mouth, indicating that he wanted to intervene but Adam held his hand up to stop him. “Let me finish. As I said… You probably haven’t given much thought to that confession, but believe me - I have. And I really meant it.“ He stopped for a moment, his eyes drifting away as he tried to recollect all the memories.

“Back then I said it in a matter of ‘I love you even though you’re mad sometimes’. But it doesn’t matter what the situation is. It’s also ‘I love you because you always remember I drink my coffee with two sugars.’ I love you because you remember when my birthday is. I love you because of your adorable, utter clumsiness. I love you because when I come back from meeting my family you don’t force me into talking, you know I just need company. I love you because when I wake up at night from a nightmare you hug me tightly and hum my favourite song to put be back to sleep. So despite all the lies you’ve apparently told me, I _know_ which parts were true.”

            The list of things that made Adam love the man standing in front of him was endless. There were big things and small details, and it all compounded into a person he valued the most in his life. “I’ve found out all those... _things_ about you last week and took all our time apart to think about it, but no matter how much I dwell on that - it doesn’t change the way I feel. Apparently I love you despite the fact that you’re an assassin. So I’ll be damned for making probably the worst choice of my life but I... I want to be with you. I mean, if you still want me.” A sudden doubt hit him. ‘ _What if-_ ’ but he wasn’t given the time to finish that thought.

„Oh Adam.” was all Theo managed to say and, with impossible speed, he was back on the bed, wrapping all his limbs around Adam and kissing him. His touch was desperate but also gentle and cautious, like he was handling the most fragile thing he has ever held. Adam deepened the kiss, his hands were brushing Theo's chest and pulling him even closer.

            Touching each other again after that week of tormenting separation and mutual longing, their kisses became lustful, the heat rising instantly. They parted to catch a breath and stared at each other for a whole minute, admiring. Then, Adam put his hand on Theo's cheek and started dragging his fingers down – neck, chest, stomach – stopping at the buckle of his belt with a questioning look on his face. Theo nodded and closed his eyes as Adam started taking off his trousers, slow torture of his touch tearing the dark-eyed man apart. After a moment, all of their clothes were hastily taken off and Theo pushed Adam back onto the mattress. He reached to the bedside drawer for lube and seconds later his slick fingers were already nudging against Adam's entrance. The blue-eyed man had spread his legs to give Theo better access and felt the delicate stinging mixed with pleasure as one finger slid inside him. A small whine escaped Adam and Theo's tongue took the opportunity to enter those parted lips. He brushed his already aching erection over Adam's thigh and added the second finger to prepare him faster. Adam's hips started moving along with Theo's hand and his fingers hit that bundle of nerves, provoking an intense groan this time.

„Now, Theo. I need... you.”

„But-” Theo started objecting, not wanting to hurt Adam.

„ _Now_.” his urging voice convinced Theo to back out his fingers and grip his member. He smeared some more lube on it and hovered over Adam, the tip of his cock touching the other man's groin, dark brown eyes locked with the blue ones.

„Okay?” Theo asked uncertainly, still being cautious with his lover.

 _„Yes_.” Adam breathed and lifted his head a few inches for a kiss. His hand was suddenly on Theo's arse, and he pulled him closer to eliminate his doubts and the distance between them. Finally, Theo gripped his cock to position it correctly and with one smooth move slid half-way in. Both of them moaned loudly into each other's mouths – Adam almost uncomfortably stretched after the short preparation, Theo overwhelmed with the tightness of muscles clenching mercilessly around him. They were both panting heavily now, their foreheads touching, lips still skimming against each other in a messy half-kiss. A moment later Theo started thrusting delicately, feeling Adam with every fiber of his body. His hands were caressing the chest of the man beneath him as he whispered 'I love you' almost inaudibly, kissing his forehead, eyes, cheeks, jaw and eventually lips. Adam was rocking his hips, matching Theo's rhythm, his fingers digging into the hips of the man on the top.

            Despite the urgency that was in them earlier, sex was slow and gentle, thorough movements meant for exploring every inch of each body, prolonging the pleasure and delight of being together again. Adam's teeth caught Theo's jaw as he climaxed, one hand gripping the nape of his neck, the other clenched on his shoulder. Theo came right with him, a small shout on his lips and hand over Adam’s chest feeling the rapid heartbeat.

            The world was perfect for Adam because, no matter what happened, Theo and him would work it out.

            The world was perfect for Theo because, no matter how badly he screwed up in the past, Adam loved him because of everything.

**Author's Note:**

> Please please please leave comments and opinions! :) Also - this is the first writing I have ever posted and I'm not sure if some things might be wrong so if there are any tags that you think I should add let me know!


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